


30 Day Marinka Drabbles

by valeforwings



Category: Free!
Genre: Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-03 19:38:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 30,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1755375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valeforwings/pseuds/valeforwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monthly 'drabble-a-day' with simple word prompts around the threesome of Haruka, Makoto and Rin years after their high school days. (Ratings will vary! It's a general T rating but rated Mature due to several M-rated chapters and situations!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home

"I'm ho~me," Makoto called, taking off his jacket and setting down his suitcase. It had been an unbearably long day and he was more than happy that it was a friday, along with his students. And he was sure that his Haruka and Rin were excited, too.

  
Weekends were precious to the threesome. When they were in high school, it was the time where they had the most time to spend with them all together because Rin would come down from Samezuka, and they would all stay at Haruka's. Even after graduation, between Makoto getting his teaching license, Rin continuing to swim to get to his Olympic goal, and Haruka working part-time at the aquarium and writing novels that were fairly successful and sold well, they all had something going on to keep them busy and to then look forward to the weekend to be with each other without having to do any work at the time.

  
He felt a pair of hands squeeze his hips as he loosened his tie and warm lips press against his neck. "Welcome home, dinner will be on the table soon." _Haruka._

  
"That goes for you too, lazy shark. Did you hear me?"

  
"Oi, I heard you loud and clear." Rin came into view, lifting his arms above his head and stretching. Grinning, he brought his hand down with one swift motion and swatted it against Makoto's ass, making the tallest let out a 'eep!'. "Smells good, Haru."

  
"Maybe I should just let you fend for yourself because I asked you to help with one thing and you complained about it," Haruka said from the kitchen to grab plates from the cupboard.

  
"I did not!"

  
"Ohhh, filling a pot with water and then putting it on the stove is _so hard_ ," Haruka did his best to imitate the whiny redhead, making Makoto laugh.  
"You guys are mean..." Makoto ended his laughter with kissing his pouting lover. "At least Mako loves me enough!"

  
"Yeah, yeah..." Haruka hummed and grabbed Makoto by his loose tie, pulling both him and Rin towards the table that had their meal on it.

  
Dinner was filled with talk about what everyone's day was like, just like every other day for the trio. Makoto's class was doing well for his first year of teaching and was excited that the next subject to cover was Romanticism after the upcoming exams, Rin was getting more people wanting to recruit him, and Haruka got inspiration for another book while he was doing his rounds at the aquarium. There was also excited talk that the two would be meeting Rin at the pool after his practice tomorrow afternoon so Haruka could go swim, because baths only did so much and going into the tanks at the aquarium to feed the aquatic creatures and to clean the tanks weren't the same as swimming in an actual pool.

  
Afterwards, with Makoto and Rin thanking Haruka for yet another wonderful meal, they all helped with dishes and took their places on the couch. Rin had found a random movie on tv to watch (more like background noise), as instead he switched between watching Haruka type his ideas away and Makoto going through and grading papers with a pen in his mouth. It was peaceful, and they all found comfort even when no one was talking aside from the low volume from the television.

  
An hour later, Rin was sound asleep, head resting on Makoto's shouler and snoring softly. The sound of Haruka's typing slowed and he yawned, saving his work and closing his computer with working enough for the evening. With a final mark Makoto was done grading his papers, and he sighed happily, looking at a sleeping Rin and a very tired Haruka.

  
"Alright...bedtime, boys."

  
Makoto shook the redhead awake, set his papers on the coffee table along with Haruka's laptop, turned off the tv, and the three made their way down the hall (with trying to not let Rin stumble into any walls) to get ready for bed. Teeth brushed, clothes changed, and they all got into the large bed, Makoto being in the middle.

  
"Goodnight," Makoto kissed Haruka, then Rin, a smile never leaving his face.

  
The redhead just mumbled something and turned on his side to go back to sleep (which didn't take long), and Haruka wrapped his arms around Makoto's middle, pressing his face against his collarbones and gently kissed the warm skin. Ruffling Rin's hair and returning a kiss to Haruka's forehead, Makoto closed his eyes.

  
"I love you both, so much."


	2. Visits

Afternoon practice had ended surprisingly early for the training athlete.

Rin's teammates had asked him if he wanted to join them for lunch, and he declined politely. He had another idea in mind that would take up the rest of his day as he walked to the local bakery a block away from the swimming facility. The sound of a soft bell and the scent of fresh pasties filled his senses as he opened and closed the door, being greeted by the young man behind the counter.

"Ah, welcome! How can I help you today?"

Rin couldn't remember the last time that himself or his lovers had gotten anything from a bakery. They were all busy with their own tight schedules (and Rin's strict diet), but today knowing that Haruka had one of his aquarium shifts and of course Makoto was teaching, so with this extra time handed to him, he would play the role of a delivery boy and very kindly deliver sweets for his sweets.

"Can I get three different boxes please?" Rin asked, looking into the multiple cases filled with all kinds of delicious treats, pointing out what he wanted in what box.

He made sure that each box was individual and personalized. For himself, one of everything. Haruka wasn't big on sweets, so he got simple fruit-filled ones. Makoto was easy, and got any available chocolate kind. In each he even requested to put chocolate covered strawberries, just for the hell of it, knowing that each of them would love the treats. Making his own personal touch, Rin marked the boxes with their initials so he knew which one belonged to who, and a simple drawing along with it: a dolphin, a shark, and a orca.

Paying the employee and with a thanks and getting his boxes, Rin walked out and sighed as he had a lot of traveling to do in a short amount of time. He would go see Haruka first, with the aquarium not being too far away, and then Makoto. Glancing down at his watch and adjusting his backpack and boxes in hand, he started on his long trip.

"Ah, miss? Is Haruka still here?" he asked an employee, who was very closely observing the octopus tank.

"Matsuoka-san, how nice it is to see you!" She beamed. Even though Haruka never liked to admit it, when asked (and sometimes he would be the enabler of the conversation) he would talk about Rin and Makoto to his coworkers. "His shift doesn't end for another hour, by now he'll be feeding the sharks."

The redhead laughed. Of course the sharks... "Thank you so much." And he went down the dark hall towards the shark tanks.

Soon enough he was being stared down by half a dozen ocean predators, who then swam away to receive the fish being thrown to them by none other than Haruka himself. Rin was mesmerized by their movements and behaviors, and the next thing he knew a fish hit his head and he heard Haruka hold back laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, 'feed the shark fish', I get it," Rin scoffed and threw the fish back, glancing up at Haruka who was still laughing. "But maybe for that I should just save these delicious pastries for just me and Mako because someone is being an ass..."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Haruka threw the last of the fish in the tank, including the one he hit Rin with. Carefully he made his way down, motioning for his lover to follow him through the 'employees only' door to return the bucket to its original place.

"Here." Rin handed him the white box with the H and dolphin drawn on it. Thankfully, they were still warm.

Haruka smiled, taking the still-warm box. With his free hand, he pulled on Rin's jacket, pulling him down for a quick kiss. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just figured I should do something for you and Mako since you two are always taking care of me," Rin admitted, cheeks turning slightly pink. Looking at Haruka's face, he knew exactly what he was going to say. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Without you guys I would probably be dead or something."

"Took the words right out of my mouth. But if you want to give Makoto his, you'll have to leave now since school is almost over."

"Shit!" Rin hissed, glancing down at his watch. "I'll see you at home, okay?" The young man nodded, and Rin kissed him again.

Rin was rushing to get to the school on time, luck on his side without any delays in his plan. He made it to the school fifteen minutes before the final bell, and the redhead sighed in relief. The receptionist in the office smiled and greeted Rin, saying that Makoto's class was in the computer room down the hall. Thanking her and putting on his visitor's pass, he made his way down hall after hall, peering in the windows hoping to see his Makoto soon.

Smiling, Rin saw Makoto speaking to one of his students from the door's window and opened it, the sound alerting the tallest and he looked back, a smile immediately appearing on his face. Finishing what he was saying to his student, Makoto got up from his chair to greet his lover.

"This is a surprise," Makoto beamed. Rin handed him the box with the M and orca on it, and his smile widened. "Oh Rin, you didn't have to-!"

"I wanted to," Rin blushed, just like with Haruka. "It made Haru happy, and I was sure you'd like it too, so..."

Makoto set the box on the table and pulled Rin close, hugging him tightly. "I love it. Thank you, Rin."

"Y-yeah, yeah..."

"Tachibana-sensei...?" A small voice said, and Rin sighed when Makoto let go.

"I'll be right with you, Yukiko-chan!" Makoto looked at Rin with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I'll see you in a bit at home, okay? I'll try not to stay here too long."

"Okay..."

Glancing around, Makoto then quickly pressed his lips to Rin's reddening cheek, and waved him off, the taller man blushing as well. The flustered young man watched Makoto speak to another student, took his own box and made his way home and to wait for his lovers to come home, which wouldn't be too long, just like they both said.

A grin on his face, Rin walked into the kitchen, placing his own box on the counter and pulled out the pans needed for dinner along with a few things from the cupboard and fridge. It seemed like a good day to do things for his lovers, why stop at just a few pastries and surprise visits?


	3. Protector

When Rin had transferred to Haruka and Makoto's school when they were kids, he suggested when they became friends that they should go to the beach. Makoto was quick to decline, leaving the classroom quickly.

"Is...he okay?" Rin asked, glancing over at Haruka, chopsticks still in his mouth and surprised at Makoto actually leaving the room. "Did I say something wrong?"

The dark haired boy sighed and motioned for Rin to get closer.

"Makoto's...afraid of the ocean." And Rin got his briefing before Makoto returned, the two acting like nothing happened or had been discussed.

All through the rest of the class, Rin would occasionally glance at Makoto, now knowing his deepest fear and felt incredibly terrible that he suggested the beach trip in the first place. He got caught staring at him twice, making both boys blush and made Haruka glare at Rin. After class, Rin and Haruka were stuck with cleaning duty, and Makoto happily agreed to wait for them to finish so that they could go to swim practice together.

"I'm going to use the restroom, be right back!" Makoto excused himself, leaving his two friends to continue their work.

"Should I apologize to Mako?" Rin brought up after a moment, cleaning the chalkboard erasers.

"You could? He might be upset that I told you, but I think he would be happy if you say you're sorry and it was just a misunderstanding."

Rin nodded, setting down the erasers. Soon enough he and Haruka were finally done, and when Haruka opened the door they expected to see Makoto's smiling face, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe he's still in the bathroom...?" Rin questioned, and Haruka nodded. Walking down the long hall they finally reached their destination, and the sound of all-too familiar sobs and other voices reached their ears, making the boys run in immediately.

Inside they saw two of their classmates standing and laughing, empty bottles of water in their hands. And then there was Makoto, hair and clothes drenched and sitting in a corner, hands covering his face and crying.

"Hey!" Haruka shouted, pushing the kids aside to get to Makoto. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Mako's afraid of water, how dumb is that?" one of them laughed. "You should've seen him, the second we threw some on him he immediately started crying! What a baby! We didn't even know until we heard Haru here say something about it to you, Rin!"

"How would you like it if someone did that to you, jerks!" Rin yelled and shoved them away. "Now go on, get out of here!"

"Hey, Matsuoka, what-" the other was silenced as Rin's little fist collided with his face, making him cry out and stumble away with his other friend.

Rin watched as they disappeared out of the bathroom (and then most likely down the hall to tell the principal), and turned his attention back to Haruka holding a still-crying, wet Makoto.

"You...you told?" Makoto mumbled, looking up at Haruka with watery green eyes.

"I'm sorry, but Rin was worried with how you reacted with the whole beach thing..." Haruka sighed. "So I told him."

"I should be the one who's sorry," Rin kneeled down by Makoto. "I didn't know and I feel awful about bringing it up and now you're going to have jerks teasing you about it for awhile."

"It's...okay," Makoto rubbed at his eyes, and looked at Rin and gave a small smile. "Maybe they know now not to mess with me because you're my friends."

A big grin appeared on Rin's face and he hugged Makoto, not caring that he was getting wet as well. How much water did they throw on him, anyways? "Thank you, Makoto."

"Come on, we're going to be late for practice." Haruka said, slightly irritated because everyone had gone home by now.

* * *

 

"Mako, I think this would look good on you," Rin said, holding up a navy blue shirt.

"Yeah?" Makoto looked at it, and smiled, taking it from Rin. "I'll go try it on then."

"Maybe you should quit swimming and get in the fashion industry instead," said Haruka, looking through piles of jeans.

"Yeah, maybe. But then I'd be surrounded by attractive models all day and it'd make Haru and Mako allll jealous," Rin teased and yelped when Haruka pinched him. "Ow! See?"

"Idiot...hey, Rin?"

"What, mackerel boy?"

"Shut up! Look across the street, isn't that the kid you punched in grade school, one of the ones that made Makoto cry?"

Rin looked to where Haruka was pointing, and sure enough, it was the same kid. "Yeah...sure looks like him, all right. He had a mole on his chin in that exact spot. Plus I'd recognize his stupid-ass face from anywhere."

"How do I look?" Makoto came back, wearing the shirt Rin had picked out and his expression changed when he saw his two lovers staring out the window, with an irritated look on Rin's face and his eyes narrowed. "Hey...what are you two looking at?"

"N-nothing," Rin mumbled, unclenching his jaw, looking away from the windows and then up at Makoto. "You look good, really good."

Makoto frowned, knowing something was wrong. "Is there something-"

"Everything's okay," Haruka chirped in, discreetly kicking Rin. "I think I'm all ready, so I'll go pay for my things." The dark haired boy walked away towards the registers, leaving just Rin and Makoto.

"Come on, let's get you outta that shirt so we can go and get some ice cream," Rin smiled and winked, trying to assure that he was fine to Makoto even though the only thing on his mind was to try not to run across the street to confront a certain person.

"...alright, Rin." Makoto returned a smile. Rin following him to the changing rooms, payed for their things and met with Haruka who was standing by the door, bags in hand.

The trio went down the street to the small and popular ice cream shop, Rin insisting he would pay but Makoto said that he didn't have to. With a quick kiss and not being able to keep his hands to himself in public, Rin told a flustered Makoto that he would be the one to pay and the tallest nodded, a heavy blush on his cheeks.

When they had gotten home and settled in, Makoto reading in bed, Haruka fresh out of the bath and Rin resting his head on Makoto's thigh, he sighed to break the unbearable silence.

"You...remember when we were kids? And those two assholes threw water on you and made you cry?"

Makoto set his book down, running his fingers through red hair. "Yeah, and you punched one, got suspended for a day, and no one bothered me ever since about it...why do you bring this up?"

"Haru and I...kinda saw the one that I punched when you were trying on clothes."

The tallest was quiet, before letting out a sigh and a soft laugh. "You didn't punch him again, did you?"

Both Rin and Haruka weren't expecting Makoto to respond that way.

"Y-you're not mad?"

"No, not really..." Makoto shrugged. "It happened years ago, and-"

"They made you upset." Haruka put in.

"Yes, but at least it was just for that one time. It's okay," he pulled his lovers close to him, a slight smile on his face along with a growing blush. "And I'm, ah, kinda flattered you two are still really overprotective of me."

"That's because we love the hell outta you," Rin answered, kissing his jaw. "And you're one big softie and need the both of us to protect you and shower you with love and affection."

"And the stray cats outside." Haruka added.

Makoto's smile grew even bigger, kissing Haruka then Rin.

"Thank you, both. I love you."


	4. Bliss (M)

"Ah, fuck, Makoto...!" Rin breathed out as the bigger man tugged on his shirt and continued kissing and biting his long neck, pressing him against the wall. "H-hey!"

The threesome had just returned from a nice meal out, to celebrate Haruka getting his new book greenlighted by his publisher. There was one glass of wine too many for the tallest of the three, which resulted in Makoto suggesting something very reasonable into Haruka's ear.

"Let's tie up Rinrin when we get home, Haru-chan~"

Haruka's eyes had widened at what came out of the taller man's mouth. Makoto rarely said things like this, so it was definitely, most likely the alcohol talking, but he also knew that Rin had liked the idea of bondage, so he couldn't actually tell what was influencing what. Deciding quickly, he nodded his head and dragged his two kissing lovers to the bedroom and shut the door, taking his jacket and other clothes off quickly.

Makoto had already succeeded in removing most of Rin's and his own clothing, pressing the redhead into the mattress and giggling. Sitting firmly on Rin's lower body, Makoto pinned Rin's wrists above his head onto the headboard of the bed and undid his belt with the other, to tightly tie his wrists in place, making sure that he couldn't move.

"M-Makoto-"

"Yes, Rinrin~?" Makoto grinned, kissing his jawline and trailing his fingers over his tied lover's growing erection. "Do you...need anything~?"

"I...I..." the redhead tried to get out, gasping when Makoto spread his legs and Haruka appeared behind him, placing the condoms and lube on the edge of the bed.

"Would you like to help me, Haru?" Placing his head lower, Makoto gently kissed the tip of Rin's erection peeking through his (actually Makoto's, Rin was a notorious clothes thief) boxers, fingers grazing his thighs.

Without hesitation, Haruka knelt down beside Makoto, sliding his fingers past the waistline of his boxers to slowly slide them down his long legs and tossing them towards the dirty laundry pile. The sight for Rin was almost unbearable, thighs twitching as Makoto continued to suck at the tip, and Haruka placing light kisses up and down his shaft, knowing all the right places to apply pressure with his tongue.

"F-fuck," Rin wished that his hands were free so he could bury them in Makoto's light hair, to force himself deeper into the warm mouth. "M-Mako, I want..."

"Hmmm?" Makoto looked up with half-lidded eyes.

"F-fuck me, Mako, please!" Rin shouted, as Haruka sucked on the base of his shaft, hard.

Makoto gave out a laugh, slightly nudging Haruka to the side to get in between the long legs better and grabbing their bottle of lube. Popping the cap open and spreading a decent amount on two fingers and putting them at his entrance, he slowly pushed them in, kissing Rin's knee as he cried out.

Rin whined as Haruka detached himself from his throbbing cock, looking desperately at both of his lovers. When red eyes met with brilliant blue from the side, watching the dark-haired man tear open a condom with his teeth and roll it on his own erection, a gasp turned into a sudden shriek.

"Found it," Makoto grinned, pressing his fingers against that bundle of nerves, making Rin arch his back and cry out.

"Go on, Haru-chan, I think he's as good as ready~" Makoto withdrew his fingers and let Haruka settle in between Rin's legs, gripping the base of his shaft and pressing the tip against Rin's stretched hole. Haruka looked at Rin, who gave a quick nod with eyes shut, a bit disappointed that it wasn't Makoto, and took it as the 'okay' to slowly press inside, Rin letting out low growls.

"Hey," Makoto whispered against Rin's mouth, long fingers teasing sensitive nipples.

"H-hey yourselffffuck-!" Rin cried out again, biting down on Makoto's lip, hard. "S-sorry-"

Makoto just smiled, bringing his head back and kissing Rin deeper as Haruka continued his thrusts that were getting deeper and deeper, swallowing down every moan that Rin could manage to let escape.

"H-Haru..." Rin squeezed his eyes shut, feeling Haruka's grip tighten on his thighs as his thrusts got sloppier, and pushed in one final time with a groan, body trembling. Haruka pulled out and sat at the edge of the bed, breathing heavily and pushing his damp bangs out of his eyes to gaze at Rin squirming under Makoto.

"M...Mako, can I...please, fuck, can I...?" Rin begged against Makoto's mouth, trying to move his arms and hips arching.

Smiling, Makoto easily un-fastened Rin's belt, freeing his sore wrists and in a quick turn of events found himself on his stomach, Rin's hands roaming his back and fingers digging into Makoto's hips as he couldn't help but thrust in, no preparations or condoms, making the larger man press his face into the mattress, letting out a harsh, surprised scream at the sudden entrance.

Once Haruka threw away his used condom, he crawled over to Makoto, kissing his hair and putting his hands over Makoto's. Reacting to Haruka's lips, Makoto tilted his face to the side, letting his lover lightly kiss his face, comforting him.

"R...Rin...!" Makoto gritted, hands clutching at the sheets and legs shaking as Rin continued to hit that spot. "Rin...!"

"Yeah, that's right..." the redhead grunted, opening Makoto's legs wider so he could get a hand around his strained, leaking erection, making the brunette cry out. "Come for me and Haru~..."

With a final cry and action from Rin's wrist, Makoto bit down on the blanket, green eyes shut tightly echoing "I'm gonna-!", as his cum covered Rin's hand and sighed contently at the feeling of himself being filled. Rin rode out his orgasm, leaning over to place kisses along Makoto's lower back and slowly pulled out, licking his hand clean. He took a deep breath, pulling Makoto and Haruka close, eyes fluttering shut.

There wasn't any talk for the longest time, just breathing.

"You guys..." Rin started, eyes still closed, tightening his hold on his lovers. "Holy _shit_."

Makoto and Haruka just smiled, kissing affectionately at Rin's skin lazily.

"It was Mako's idea, after all..." Haruka brought up, fingers lazily making patterns on Rin's chest.

Grinning, Rin kissed the half-asleep, semi-sober Makoto, squeezing his hip.

Makoto made a grunt in response, freeing a hand to pull up the large comforter over all of them, nuzzling his head into Rin's shoulder.

"Mmm, sleep now, okay?"

Rin laughed, pulling Makoto and Haruka close to him. "Yeah, okay."

* * *

 

"You alright, Mako?" Rin asked, rubbing Makoto's back through the thick blanket.

The tallest let out a whine, curling into the bed.

"...head hurts..." Makoto's voice was quiet.

"That's what happens when you drink too much, you know that." Haruka came into the bedroom, a glass of water in one hand and a pill in the other. "Hey, c'mere."

Rin watched as Haruka tried to pry Makoto's head up from the pile of their blanket and pillows unsuccessfully. Between Haruka calmly (on 'his last nerve' calmly because "Dammit Mako you're a grown-ass man!") trying to coax Makoto to take it because it would make his headache not seem as bad and Makoto's whining of 'don't wannas', Rin laughed to himself and reached out to tug Makoto up with a slight cry of discomfort and Haruka took it for the perfect opportunity to shove the pill in his mouth along with some of the water, making him cough and sputter as he tried to swallow what had just been quickly sneaked into his mouth.

I'm in love with a couple of idiots, Rin thought to himself as he continued to rub Makoto's back, the coughing dying down and whining at Haruka for being mean. But they're my idiots.


	5. Doubtful

Makoto stood leaning against the bar, drink in hand, alone and watching as Rin's coach spoke about his redheaded lover with great praise. Haruka had been stuck talking to an apparent fan of his, trying to be polite and answer all the questions he could, not being interested one bit. But Makoto was used to this happening. Used to his Haruka and his Rin getting all these events and parties and guests and people wanting to talk to _them_ , to be in _their_ presence, to listen to what _they_ have to say and get a response, even if it's just a simple yes or no.

And to be honest, Makoto was starting to feel...doubtful.

His lovers, they were special. They were talented and because of that people wanted to be around them. It wasn't high school anymore, and so the tallest's kindness could only get him so far, and his looks had only gotten him a girl's attention for all the wrong reasons. And being a teacher? What was so special about that?

He felt guilty for feeling this way. Makoto only agreed to come tonight because he had missed the last few parties for both Haruka and Rin, making up excuses. Work being at the top of the list, but when he said he was tired and needed to rest, he actually meant it most of the time. Go to event, Haruka or Rin gets praise, always end up on the sidelines, leaning against the bar, being left out and forgotten for most of the time to be alone and to watch other people have a good time. Lather, rinse, repeat.

_They probably have more fun without me here, anyways..._

"Hey, Mako!" The sulking man looked up, finding a pair of familiar red eyes staring at him, with a happy-turned-worried expression. "Hey...are you okay?

"I'm fine," Makoto answered, giving Rin a reassuring smile. "Having fun?"

The redhead shrugged. "It's just like any other thing we go to. Bit of chitchat, bit of food and free booze, same old, same old."

Makoto just nodded, biting the inside of his cheek and scanning the crowd to find Haruka still talking to the same woman.

"Makoto." Rin's voice was a bit more forceful. "Something's wrong, I can tell." Rin placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder, and the tallest refused to make eye contact. "...Mako. Please?"

Guilt was eating Makoto apart, trying to decide if he should be selfish and tell Rin how he really felt. His grip on the glass in his hand tightened as he sighed, closing his eyes and looking down.

"...I shouldn't be here."

"Makoto, what do you mean-"

And he just let it come all out.

"Every time, it happens every single time I come with you and Haru. You two are the reason why people come to these things, and me too, but...I just stand here, because I'm just...some literature teacher that isn't special at all."

Rin didn't know what to say about Makoto's sudden feelings. Taking a moment to collect himself, he breathed and started again.

"I feel bad. I feel bad for lying to you two when I started feeling like this so I wouldn't have to come, because all I do is watch you and Haru, and no one even comes and talks to me and..." he paused, mentally telling himself not to cry. "I'm sorry, I have to go outside-"

Makoto set his glass on the counter of the bar and walked as fast as he could through the crowd of people to the hotel exit, ignoring Rin calling his name behind him. The cool night air hit his face as his pace quickened to a jog, heading for the park he saw nearby when they arrived earlier. Reaching his destination and taking a seat on the first bench he saw, he covered his face with his hands and immediately cried, wishing he never said anything to Rin in the first place.

"I'm so stupid..." he mumbled to himself, pulling on his jacket as a cold breeze blew by.

It wasn't long before he heard two pairs of footsteps come closer to him, and he knew exactly who they belonged to.

"...go away, please. Just leave me alone-"

"Makoto." Haruka spoke, taking the larger hands in his, kneeling in front of him. He could see those familiar blue eyes looking up at him filled with worry, and it made him feel even worse. "Please, tell us what's wrong."

Choking back another sob, he shook his head, returning his eyes to look down at his black slacks. The tallest flinched when he felt something being placed over him, Rin's jacket, and felt Haruka lightly squeeze his hands.

"Please, Mako."

"I just...I don't want to make you two upset."

"Makoto." Rin wrapped his arms around Makoto's large shoulders, resting his head on his upset lovers. "I don't like it when you're upset, and I promise, Haru and I won't be upset at all, right?" Haruka nodded. "See?"

Makoto took a deep breath. "I just...I've been thinking. Comparing myself to you two, I'm just so...ordinary."

"And what's so bad about that?" Haruka asked.

"Every time I go to things for you or Rin, I...stand there. No one really talks to me and it makes me feel like I don't really feel like I belong or even should be there, because who wants a nobody to be there, much less talk to one?  So I made up excuses the last few times, that I was busy or tired or anything, because I felt like I was just the tag-a-long teacher that no one wants to pay attention to because I'm not an inspiring writer or amazing athlete-" Makoto hiccuped, closing his eyes. "-and I didn't want to tell because I didn't want that to stop you from going to these things since you really should attend since they're for you or think that I'm complaining and a bother because I'm just stupid and-"

"Hey." Rin stopped him, unlatching himself to kneel beside Haruka. "Look at me, Makoto."

Even though he didn't want to, Makoto did so anyway, opening his teary eyes to look at blue and red.

"Makoto Tachibana, you are not, in any way, a bother or stupid. I had a feeling something was wrong the last few times you said that you couldn't come with us, but you should have told me or Haru that you were feeling this way." Rin said, quietly. "And boring? Ordinary? Makoto, you are the most interesting and wonderful person in this entire _world_ , you're even better than me and Haru."

"That's...not true..."

"It is. People only go to these things if they can just to say they met someone they see on the news or anywhere else. Did you see that woman that wouldn't leave me alone?" Makoto nodded, slowly meeting Harka's eyes. "She only wanted to talk to me because she thought she had the chance to use her 'sex appeal' to sleep with me."

"...are you fucking serious?" Rin said, disgusted, and Haruka's expression said it all. "Well, that's happened to me sometimes too, but _damn_. She was talking to you for like...an hour."

"You guys..."

"And Makoto, I swear if you ever get the thought in your head that we might cheat on you at all with someone, I'll quit swimming." Rin swore.

"And I'll stop writing."

Green eyes widened, as his lovers were serious. "N-no, you can't-"

"We love you, Makoto." Haruka brought Makoto's hand to his mouth and kissed the cold skin. "We love our good-natured, handsome, thoughtful-"

"Amazing in bed." Rin added, a grin on his face.

"-amazing in bed, best teacher in the world Makoto, and we wouldn't have it any other way. And we can stop going to all of these things, it's no big deal, really."

Makoto smiled, sniffling. "I love you, too."

"Do you want to go back in or head home?" Rin asked. "If we do leave I just gotta tell my coach I'm leaving."

The tallest shook his head, squeezing his lovers' hands. "Can we just go home? I just want to go to sleep."

The two on the ground smiled, standing up, tugging Makoto with them so he was standing, hands all laced together.

_"Yeah, let's go home."_


	6. Apart

"Are you sure you have everything? Clothes, extra pens, phone charger, laptop and charger, toiletries-"

"Condoms? Lube?"

"Rin!"

Haruka stood in the living room, saying his goodbyes to his lovers, as he was going to be gone for a week to do a very tight-scheduled book tour.

"I have everything, don't worry. You won't get any 'I forgot this' messages from me at all."

"But you better text us when you have the time!" Makoto frowned. "And we'll call you before bed every day-"

"Mako, stop fretting or else he'll be late for sure," Rin rolled his eyes, pulling Haruka close to him by gripping the front of his shirt and kissing him. "Boy oh boy am I sure gonna miss kissing you for a week..."

"At least Makoto will be here?" Haruka suggested.

"Why do you say that like it's an awful thing?" Makoto sighed, pouting, and earning a kiss from Haruka.

"I'm just teasing, Makoto. I got all my bags so I'm ready to go, and I'll text you when we get to the first hotel?" Rin and Makoto nodded, hugging their lover for the last time for the next week.

"Be safe, make sure to eat, love you." Rin said, sneaking his arm around Makoto's waist to rest his hand on his hip. "We'll try not to burn the house down."

And with final hugs and kisses, Haruka stepped out of his home to see his manager leaning against his car, waiting for him. His phone buzzed in his hand, and he unlocked the screen to see the message.

_Miss you already. -Makoto_

 The black haired man sighed, walking towards the vehicle with a heavy heart. It was sure going to be a long week...

* * *

 

Haruka layed on his hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling.

It was finally the end of the week and after this last signing, he could finally go home to Makoto and Rin. They definitely weren't kidding when they said that they would message him almost frequently (like _how are you doing, having fun, meeting new people, haven't killed each other yet, etc_ ) and call before bed (aside from two occasions; one being trying to calm Makoto down because they had accidentally stumbled upon a slasher film at one of the worst, goriest scenes while channel surfing one evening and the other was Rin leaving his phone on while he and Makoto had sex and the lonely author couldn't complain).

Needless to say, he was more than excited to be back in his own bed in a matter of hours.

 _Especially_ after the incident where three women followed him back to the hotel and he didn't notice until he was at his room's door.

* * *

 

He was one second away from losing his mind.

It seemed like there was a never-ending line of people, having to ask for names and write it and his own sloppy signature, wrist starting to ache. The usual. The talking volume in the small bookstore was also unbearable, and he would rather listen to Makoto and Rin bicker over something stupid in their home, like Rin's dirty socks being left on the floor.

_Speaking of..._

"How's it going, handsome?"

Haruka's eyes went wide as Rin and Makoto stood in front of him, holding his books.

"Why are you two here?"

Makoto smiled. "Because we both missed you and wanted to surprise you, of course."

"Could you sign this, please?"

Rin placed the book in front of Haruka on the table. The author flipped it open to the front page and almost pressed the pen to the white pages, and Rin just leaned forward, lifting up the hem of his shirt, exposing the toned stomach he dearly missed.

"I meant this..."

Gazing into seductive eyes, Haruka pressed the permanent marker to Rin's skin, signing quickly and adding something he wouldn't dare sign to one of his fans. Finshed, Rin put his shirt down and motioned Makoto over, who did the same thing with a blush on his face and shivered when the cold ink touched his skin.

"We'll be waiting at the cafe down the street when you're done, okay?" Makoto whispered to Haruka, making sure no one else could hear him so that they wouldn't be followed.

But the author had a better idea.

"Why not skip the cafe and go right to my hotel room? There's things that can't wait for another few hours and need to be attended to asap." Reaching into his pocket, he fished out his room's spare key card, entrusting it with Makoto with a wink. "Hopefully this won't take much longer."

With his face turning more red, Makoto and Rin said their temporary goodbyes, exiting the busy store and walking a few blocks to where Haruka's hotel was, entered his room, and waited. Waiting turned to light kisses, light kisses turned to makeouts, makeouts turned to hands everywhere and then clothes off, laughing at seeing Haruka's suggestive words on their skin.

Thirty minutes later, Haruka eagerly returned to see his lovers still kissing, Rin on top of Makoto. Throwing off his coat and taking off his shoes, he leapt on the bed, pulling Rin to him by his beltloops.

"Alright, let's get this done."


	7. Dilemma

It was common that wherever Makoto went, there was always at least one girl that would come up to him. It happened when he was in high school, in college, and even after to his surprise. He always felt bad having to let them off nicely, smiling and saying that he wasn't interested and he was happily taken already, making the poor girl (and himself) embarrassed.

But if there was one thing that he was thankful for, it was that Haruka and Rin weren't always around when it happened. Especially Rin. They very well knew that he was attractive, very attractive, and they would both get a girl to ask them out here and there, but not as many as Makoto. Haruka would just come up, take Makoto's arm and walk away saying that he wanted to show him something that he saw, but one time he thought it would be a good idea to start making out with the tallest right then and there, telling the girl that he was better than taken while a flustered Makoto tried to speak for himself. That also happened to be Rin's preferred method.

"You'll never guess what happened today," Makoto sighed, falling onto the large bed. Haruka was propped up with his pillow, finishing up writing for the day and Rin was shaving in the bathroom with the door open.

"Tough day?" Haruka asked.

"Mhmmm," the teacher mumbled. "Awful."

"What, sit on your glasses again?" his redheaded lover replied, washing his face off.

"That was just that one time...! But, no." he took off his mentioned-glasses and pinched the bridge of this nose. "During lunch, my boss told me that he heard that one of my students...well, likes me."

Haruka stopped typing, tilting his laptop screen down and looked over at Makoto. "...what?"

He nodded. "I was minding my own business, about to start eating, when he came up behind me and said 'I was in the hall earlier and overheard one of your students talking to a friend about you in a very...overly-adoring manner'."

"Well what did you do?"

"Please tell me you didn't panic." Rin sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, removing his tank top.

"I didn't know what to say!" A groan from both Haruka and Makoto.

"Did you at least try and talk to her?"

"I tried, but the way she was staring at me during class was...well, it was creepy!" Makoto sighed, putting his hands over his face. "And my boss said that if it got any worse, with worst involving most definitely unwanted advances and the like, I just don't know what to do!  I don't want to find unwanted love notes and chocolates on my desk from an underage girl who's my _student_!"

"It's just a girl crush, it'll pass," Haruka huffed, propping Makoto's head on his legs and taking his hands. "Plus...you know, she does think that you're not seeing anyone so it's the single appeal, too..."

"Please, if I were in her shoes he's be ten times hotter if I knew he was married," Rin added, trailing his fingers over where a ring should be on Makoto's hand. "Hey, you two, c'mere."

Haruka and Makoto looked at each other, confused, as Rin reached over and rummaged through his bedside drawer, simply pulling out a marker. Taking the cap off and gripping both of their hands, he drew a heart on their ring fingers and then his own.

"There. I would've put a ring on 'em, but..." he flushed, looking embarrassed. "Iunno, that's a big step and sizes and what you two would have liked..."

"I love it," Makoto said, bringing him close. Haruka smiled in response, touching the mark carefully, in fear of smudging it.

"Ah, one more thing..." Rin said. Again, his lovers were confused until Rin suddenly attached himself to Makoto's collarbone, nipping and sucking hard, intentionally trying to leave a mark. The tallest let out a sharp cry, head falling back and gripping onto Rin's arms as he continued to be assaulted with bites and wet kisses.

Rin detached himself with a satisfied 'pop', eyeing Haruka with cloudy eyes. Knowing there was no way that he could prevent the inevitable, he sighed and pulled down his own shirt collar, allowing Rin to make a similar mark just like on Makoto, same reaction and all.

"There, that should stay there for awhile."

Sighs filled the house as Haruka got up to make dinner, Makoto and Rin following close behind.

* * *

 

Rin decided that he would pick out Makoto's clothes for the day when he woke up. The button up shirt he happened to choose by 'random' would show the obvious hickey on the teacher's collarbone easily if he didn't wear a tie and had the first two buttons undone, and of course, he left out the tie, and it was supposed to get warm by noon.

Which would make sense that Makoto came home, the shirts first two buttons undone (hickey clearly visible with his laptop bag on his shoulder, the weight pulling the shirt down) and overjoyed that his student didn't look at him with 'love filled eyes' even once through the entire day, thinking that his boss actually did something and talked to her and said nothing about the hickey.

But Rin (and Haruka, because he pointed it out when he had left in the morning since it was fairly obvious against the white fabric), knew for damn sure that Rin was a genius this one time.

 _That'll teach some girl to attempt to make advances on our Makoto_ , Rin thought as he listened to how relieved Makoto was, stuffing more rice in his mouth.

Makoto finally noticed Rin's plan (and most definitely why the girl must've backed off) when he was getting into the shower later that evening.


	8. Sickness

"Is Haru even awake right now?" Rin asked, looking down the hall. It was a bit past nine on a thursday morning. Makoto had already went off to work, and Rin didn't have to go to practice for another few hours. He thought it was odd that when they woke up Haruka didn't join them for breakfast or get in the bath first thing.

Making his way down the hall and back into their bedroom, sure enough, there was a Haruka-sized lump still under the blankets. With a sigh, Rin sat on the side of the bed, shaking him gently.

"Hey, it's time to wake up..." No response. "...Haru?"

Prying the covers off, making the smallest let out a whine, Rin was surprisingly met with red-tinged blue eyes.

"I don't feel so good."

"Well you don't look so good, either." He pressed his hand to Haruka's sweaty forehead, and pulled it away.

"No wonder you didn't come out when Makoto made your mackerel for you this morning."

The mention of it made Haruka's face change hue. "...that's because when I could smell it, I threw up."

" _THE_ Haruka Nanase, throwing up at the scent of his beloved mackerel? Quick, better tell the fish market to stop selling to us!"

"Shut up, you're too loud." he whined, pulling his pillow over his head. "Call the aquarium and my manager for me and say I'm sick and can't do anything today."

Rin sighed, flicking Haruka's nose. "Fine. But I do have to leave soon for practice. So in the meantime I'll get things ready for you and I'll have to call someone to watch you while I'm gone."

A tired grunt in response, and Rin left the room to make a few calls.

* * *

 

"Thank you two for coming, it really helps me out," It wasn't his first choice, but he couldn't miss practice or call Makoto and make him come home, either. Haruka did fight it, saying that he was an adult and didn't need anyone to watch him because he was sure 'it's just a 24 hour bug and nothing is serious', but the redhead wanted to make sure. "I have everything set out; already made some soup, he took some medicine, you know where everything is, and with today's schedule Makoto should be home before me. Call _only_ if he's dying."

"Rin-chan you're so strict!" Nagisa huffed, folding his arms with a coy smile. Over the years the blonde had gotten taller, but still a few inches short of meeting the redheads' height. "But Rei-chan and I have this under control, no worries!"

"You two haven't changed at all," Rin sighed, opening the front door and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "And I swear to god if I find out that you two had sex in this house I won't hesitate to murder you and force you to clean EVERYTHING."

The statement made Rei flush deep red. "R-Rin, I promise, we won't do anything!"

"Rei, you're no fun either!"

Rolling his eyes, Rin took a deep breath and closed the door, thinking that this was an absolutely awful idea.

At least he let Makoto know.

* * *

 

"Haru-chaaaan!"

"Nagisa, he's sick! You need to be quiet."

"Oh, sorry! Haru-chaaaan-" The blue-haired man sighed and rubbed his temples.

Haruka groaned and opened his eyes, seeing Nagisa's pink eyes a mere few inches away from his and Rei behind him. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"Nagisa and Rei's watching service at your service!" Nagisa beamed, making both Haruka (and Rei) cringe. "Oh, sorry!"

"Just let me sleep."

"Fine, but Rin said that we should start up a bath for you and we did, so..."

"Move."

"That's the spirit!"

"No, _move_ -!" Hands covering his mouth, Haruka scrambled out of bed and dashed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Haruka, are you okay...?" Rei said, almost knocking on the door when Nagisa stopped him, grabbing onto his arm.

"I wouldn't bother a person throwing up, Rei."

"... _oh_."

"Come on, we can just wait. The tub's already full in there so he might use it once he's done. We'll just...check up on him in a little bit. In the meantime we can warm up the soup and cuddle on the couch?"

Rei sighed, adjusting his glasses. "I suppose so."

* * *

 

"I'm home!" Makoto called out, putting his suitcase on the floor and taking his shoes off.

"Welcome home, Makoto." Rei welcomed quietly, trying not to wake up Nagisa who was sleeping beside him.

"How's he doing?"

"In bed, sleeping again. We had to, uh...wrangle him out of the tub and it's _definitely_ not like when we were in school." Rei's face flushed, referring to the bathing suit not being present. "Nagisa was the unluckiest and went head-on and I apologize on his behalf."

"Oh...no." Makoto let out a nervous laugh. "Well, you could stay if you like since Nagisa seems pretty content on the couch..."

"Thank you, Makoto." Rei smiled. "But I think I'll wake him up and get him home, it's been...quite the day, and I feel pretty tired myself, too."

"Hopefully you didn't get what Haruka has! Would you two like to do dinner sometime? I think the three of us should be free sometime next week."

"That would be wonderful. Hey, Nagisa..." Rei awoke the blonde, who mumbled something and just clinged to Rei, arms around his waist. "Alright, we'll be on our way."

"Thank you both, really." Makoto waved goodbye to his friends, smiling as he watched Rei easily managed to carry a grown Nagisa, still sleeping, on his back.

Makoto walked into the bedroom, crawling into bed carefully and placed Haruka's head on his lap, running his fingers through dark hair.

"Feeling better?"

"A little..."

"How was Nagisa and Rei?"

"Loud."

Makoto just laughed, continuing running his fingers through Haruka's hair until falling asleep as well. When Rin got home later, upon seeing his peaceful boys, he joined them.

* * *

 

"Yes, Nagisa? About dinner tonight..." Haruka sighed into the phone, glancing back at Makoto and Rin in their bed, both feeling miserable as Haruka did days ago. "The boys got what I did."

_"That's alright Haru-chan, Rei and I are still feeling a bit under the weather even though we got better yesterday. Maybe next time!"_

"Yeah, next time..."

 


	9. Outfits

"No."

_"Whyyyyy?"_

"Because I said so."

"Please?"

"No."

"Haruuu, you're no fun," Rin pouted. "Please wear them? At least Mako actually took the time to think about it!"

"If stuttering once he saw what was in the box and leaving to shut himself in the bathroom is 'thinking about it', then wouldn't you think he would have decided by now because that was fifteen minutes ago?"

"He's fine, Haru-"

"He ran into the wall on the way to hide, Rin."

_"Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase?"_

Haruka sighed, taking the box in question and lifted the clothes in question out. There were two matching outfits, one blue and the other green: a cut-off sailor top with a short skirt, thigh-high socks, and bows for accessories, complete with lacy underwear. _No wonder Makoto ran off in a hurry..._

"Where the hell did you even find these?"

  
"Online, duh. I got bored one day and decided I wanted to spice things up in the bedroom, that's all."

  
Another sigh, and the two heard the bathroom door open and Makoto reappeared, face flushing even deeper seeing Haruka with the clothes in question in his hands, specifically the underwear. He turned around quickly to return back to his hiding place, when Rin stopped him by grabbing his arm and pressing his back against the wall, placing kisses on his neck.

  
"Pleaaaase, Mako?" Rin pouted, tilting his head to the side. "It could be fun...and I'll owe you two big, I promise!"

  
Makoto sighed, knowing Rin would just keep asking if he ignored him. "...just this once?"

  
"You're the best, Mako!" He excitedly went back to the table, taking a hold of Haruka and the box, pushing the two men into the bedroom. "Shout for me when you're done!"  
Green eyes traveled to the box of clothes sitting on the bed, blinking upon seeing Haruka writing something down.

  
"...what are you doing?"

  
"Documenting that Rin owes us one big favor."

* * *

  
"H-hey...Haru, could you help me out?" Makoto's face didn't change from being bright red, as he held the two green bows.

  
"Yeah, c'mere..." Haruka was sitting on the bed, just finishing putting on his socks. Makoto sat on the floor and handed the accessories to Haruka, feeling grip his hair to clip them in with ease. "There."

  
"How do I look?" Makoto nervously asked, standing back up and turning in a circle.

  
"Really...damn good." He could feel his face start to warm up at the sight of how the tallest looked, skirt just a tad too short on purpose (just like his own). _Dammit, Rin..._  
"You too. He even got our sizes right..." Makoto smiled, eyes trailing up the smaller man's body, admiring how lovely Haruka actually looked in the outfit. "Are you sure you still want to do...this?"

  
The blue eyed man just shrugged. "If it gets him to shut up about it and we never have to see or wear these things again, then I guess it's okay..."  
Makoto took a seat next to Haruka on the bed, shouting for Rin that they were done and heard heavy, approaching footsteps and Rin quickly swung open the door, a grin on his face.

  
"Oh hell yes." he breathed, crawling between Makoto and Haruka, hands running up long cloth-covered legs and stopping at their thighs where he reached the skin. "Time for some damn good fun."

* * *

  
Hours later, Rin sat up against the large bed's headboard, damp strands of hair stuck to his face, breathing heavily. The room was quiet and reeked of sex, and Rin glanced at his disheveled, messily-clothed and exhausted lovers. Makoto was sleeping peacefully in his lap and Haruka was hanging off the foot of the bed, snoring softly.  
Well that was one damn good experience, that's for sure, Rin thought, fingers lazily making patterns on Makoto's sweat-soaked shirt, amazed that the two didn't even try to take them off once during or even after.

  
He had picked up his abandoned phone on his bedside dresser, admiring the dozens of pictures he took (much to his boyfriends' requests of 'please don't'). Finding a favorite of them in a compromising position, he composed a new message, with the recipients being both Haruka and Makoto and attached the picture.  
 _Told you it'd be fun~_

* * *

  
"Guys, no, I really don't want to do this-"

  
"Too late," Haruka said, pushing Rin out of the locker room while Makoto made sure to take pictures with his phone.

  
Haruka and Makoto joined their favors that Rin owed them, in return for one thing...that Rin would wear a one-piece swimsuit, specifically for women, that looked like it had a shark mouth on the side of it, exposing his skin. Immediately his teammates and captains' eyes were on the flustered redhead, too embarrassed to move an inch.  
"Go on, you promised!" Makoto said, continuing to take pictures as Haruka nudged him towards the water.

  
Grumbling, he stomped over to start his warm ups on the pool sidelines, everyone too afraid to say anything about what was happening (knowing Rin's temper) and weren't planning on asking any time soon. Thinking back on to what happened a mere week ago while stretching his legs out, and that he secretly took the costumes to the cleaners and hid them in the back of the closet without them knowing, he smiled.

  
_Totally worth it._

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the inspiration for Haru and Makoto's outfits are pictured, along with Rin's swimsuit as well!


	10. Reliever

Rin Matsuoka had his moments when he knew better. Like waiting a few seconds before getting in the bath because the water would most likely burn him, and to never forget to feed the stray cats or else he'd have to deal with an upset boyfriend when he found out. And he wasn't stupid, so he learned when he made mistakes.  
In this case, he damn well knew better than to disturb Haruka when he had deadlines, and Makoto when he had midterms and exams to draft.

  
Because the last time that happened, Makoto cried for hours (Rin accidentally misplaced some of his papers) and Haruka threatened to gauge his eyes out with a pen if he even came close to him, along with other cruel scenarios.

  
Which would explain why Haruka hadn't left his computer for the last few days and Makoto had papers placed everywhere in their home, and Rin, who learned from past experiences, stayed away.

  
The redhead sighed, knowing that the two were working themselves way too hard to finish on time. Hell, he had to beg them to even eat and go to sleep ever since the frantic working started (and neither man had shaved since then, and Rin wasn't used to kissing stubbly faces, nor did he really even like it). Saying that he was worried was an understatement. Haruka was stubborn enough on his own, but trying to get Makoto to do things during this time was near impossible, and being brushed off with a "Yeah, okay-" when he tried to tell him something instead of dropping everything to listen like the usual happy Makoto would, actually...hurt.

  
"Hey, Haru." Silence, as fingers continued to type. "I got a bath ready for you if you want..."

  
Rin was actually surprised that he actually stopped, but sighed again when he took his computer with him down the hall, into their bedroom (where Makoto was surrounded by loose sheets of paper everywhere, hair a mess and glasses halfway off of his nose) and then their personal bathroom. Following close behind he watched as Haruka sat his laptop on a small table, got undressed, went into the water with a pleased sigh, and dried his hands with a nearby towel to continue to type at an uncomfortable angle, obviously upset that he couldn't enjoy himself due to work.

  
And then Rin got a brilliant idea.

  
Taking off his jacket, Rin crouched behind the stressed out writer, placing his hands on tense shoulders and got to his own work.

  
"Rin what the hell are you-" Long fingers pressed into sensitive muscle, making the man shutter and gasp. " _O-oh_..."

  
"Just helpin' you out..." Rin whispered, continuing to work that spot, amazed that this was actually working and Haruka actually had saved his work and shut his computer off, leaning into Rin's hands. "Is it working?"

  
Haruka only nodded, eyes shutting and sighing happily. Rin just laughed, placing kisses on the exposed skin of Haruka's neck, moving his kneading hands up and down wet skin. More pleased sounds escaped Haruka's throat as he felt his entire body relax, sinking lower into the warm water and couldn't even bring himself to whine as the hands were removed, too relaxed to even care. He had even let some of the now lukewarm water out of the tub and put more hot water in, along with the bath salts he knew he liked the best. To Haruka's standards, Rin was a saint right now.

  
"Thank you." he mumbled, letting Rin take his laptop out of the bathroom and into the bedroom so he could relax peacefully for the first time in days.

  
He listened to the sound of the faucet dripping, and in moments Makoto's protesting voice from their bedroom, begging Rin to be careful with his papers and then to just let him do his work because this was important which then turned into soft moans and crinkling sheets of paper in a matter of seconds.

  
"I can hear you, Mako." Haruka said, loud enough for a very pleased-sounding ' _fuck off_ ' for a response as Rin continued to work at Makoto's muscles, the brunette loosening up with every touch.

  
Rin was surprised with himself, seeing Makoto gather his papers with a content look on his face after he was done, setting them aside in neat piles.

  
"C'mere," he said, tugging on Rin's shirt to bring their mouths together, kissing softly for a moment before drifting apart and resting their foreheads together. "Thanks."

"No problem. Didn't even know I was good at it."

  
"Well your hands do other things really well too, Rinrin..." Makoto gave out a laugh and yawned, resting his head on a pillow. "C'mon, sleep with me."

  
"Don't you have more things to do?" Rin let himself be dragged down again, burying his face in Makoto's shoulder.

  
"Mmmm...later, they can wait for now. Haru, don't stay in there for long, okay..." Makoto trailed off, eyes falling shut. "You have to come out sometime."

  
"No promises." They heard echo from the bathroom.

  
Rin smiled against the fabric of Makoto's shirt, closing his eyes as well, listening to the familiar and comforting sound of his boyfriend's heartbeat and steady breathing. Haruka got out of the tub minutes later, lazily drying himself off before getting in to bed as well, wrapping his arms around Rin's waist and nuzzling the back of his neck. And for a moment, all of their stress was gone, all because of one simple idea.

  
This was also deemed as one of the only reasons that Rin was allowed to disrupt deadline season.


	11. Worry

_"Rin!"_

  
_"Oi, Matsuoka!"_

  
_"You better be okay, dammit!"_

  
Rin winced, the pain coming from his head unbearable as he tried to open his eyes and was blinded by a way too bright light. His arm also stung slightly from the IV needle.  
"Oh thank god..." he heard his captain sigh from beside him. "Hey, you feeling alright?"

  
"Just peachy," Obvious sarcasm, mouth dry. "What even happened?"

* * *

  
_The redheaded athlete was speeding through the water, racing against his old time. With a final push, his hand had crashed into the wall of the pool and he surfaced, taking in a large breath of air as his captain exclaimed that he had beat his time by two seconds._

  
_"Just two?" Rin scoweled, thinking that it would have been more. "Two?"_

  
_"Lighten up, Matsuoka! Your time is nearly unbeatable by now, you should be at least happy!" he watched as his captain wrote it down. "Tournament's in two weeks, if you're still feeling shitty about it, you do have time to improve."_

  
_Sighing and taking off his swimming cap and letting his goggles hang from his neck, Rin pushed himself halfway out of the pool with shaking arms. Suddenly he had lost balance, falling back a bit before his head collided with the cement edge of the pool, one of his teammates immediately grabbing him to keep him above the water. The last thing he remembered was being pulled out of the pool, and hearing a voice saying that he was going to a hospital._

* * *

  
"That would explain this godawful pressure," Rin mumbled, touching the bandage around his head and wincing. "Was it really that bad?"

  
"Rin, it could've been worse. You could've hit your jaw or your forehead but instead it's only the left side. And you could have hit it even harder. You're damn lucky to even be breathing right now."

  
He sighed, closing his eyes again and listening to the steady beats of the heart monitor next to him. His beats, he really was lucky to be alive.  
"By the way, I called Nanase to tell him what happened."

  
Red eyes snapped open, heart meter picking up immediately.

  
"W-what?"

  
"I called Nanase first, and luckily he was home. He said that he was going to get Makoto and come right away." The elder man made a face. "What, do they not deserve to know or something?"

  
A nurse came in to check on Rin (with the sudden rate spike being way too alarming), and deeming that he was fine after changing his bandage and checking the wound, she left, and moments later the door opened again and saw his lovers rush in.

  
"Is he okay?" Makoto breathed, face red. Did they run all the way here...? Rin thought.

  
"Doctor said that he'd be fine. But you two need to make sure that he's okay and that means nothing stressful. And Rin, that means no practice until you get checked out."

"But...but we have that tournament coming up and I need to improve my time-!"

  
"I'm sorry, but maybe you'll get better the week before or maybe in a couple of days. I take health very serious, and I don't want you training in this condition because it could compromise your health. Permanently." Putting on his coat he nodded at the two men, and left.

  
Haruka and Makoto sat on both sides of Rin, taking his hands in theirs, no one speaking for the longest time, the steady beeping of the heart monitor and hum of machines to accompany the silence.

  
"You have _no_ fucking idea," Haruka started, breathing deeply to control the wavering of his voice, and Rin could feel his hands shaking. "How worried I am, how worried I was when I got that call-."

  
"Haru, I-"

  
"Your captain called me from the fucking ambulance, Rin. And then I had to make a mad dash to get Makoto, trying not to fucking cry when talking to the stupid receptionist to get him out of class and-" Haruka stopped, tears spilling from his eyes. "And the look on Makoto's face when he saw me in there, waiting for him and then when I told-"

  
"Please don't cry," Rin whispered, squeezing Haruka's trembling hand. "Please."

  
"It's okay," Makoto's voice cut in, gentle green eyes staring into blue. "He's alive, and awake, and if anything were wrong we would have been told. I'm really...greatful."

  
"I almost lost you because of the water, Makoto, I'm not going to lose Rin the same way!"

  
"I didn't Haru, someone-"

  
"Well what if no one was there to get to you in time, Rin!?"

  
Haruka was trying to get his breathing back to normal, tightening his grip on Rin's hand.

  
"Haru?" Makoto sounded worried, knowing Haruka only yelled when he was genuinely upset.

  
"I...I'm sorry, Rin, I didn't mean to yell, I-"

  
"You're right, Haru."

  
Blue eyes blinked, staring into guilty red.

  
"You have every reason to be upset and angry. I'm just...yeah, I'm stressed because this stupid tournament is important and...I want to make you and Mako so proud of me and I was reckless and wasn't being careful. I wasn't thinking right, and I'm sorry." He looked at Makoto on his right, and then Haruka on his left. "Please, both of you...forgive me."

  
"...alright." Haruka said, not expecting Rin to apologize like this. "But, really. Please, you need to be more careful."

  
"You'll do wonderful in two weeks," Makoto assured, smiling. "We'll take care of you so you'll be back in that pool before you know it."

  
Blinking back tears, Rin nodded and smiled slightly.

  
"Alright."

  
"You're just lucky you have a thick head, stupid." Haruka joked, rubbing his eyes.

  
_"Oi!"_


	12. Anniversary

_"Five years, huh?"_

  
Five years ago today, before graduation, two became three.

  
Rin had been a nervous wreck, not being able to hide his feelings anymore for both the brunette and ebony haired boys he had been friends with for so long. The only other person he told was Nitori, who surprisingly reacted better than he thought he would, thinking that the small boy still liked him.

  
_"Senpai, if you like them, just go for it! It doesn't hurt to tell them how you feel." Nitori beamed. "You can do it! I know you can. What's there to be afraid about?"_

  
And that's how he found himself knocking on Haruka's door, nervous as he could ever be.

  
Makoto was the one to open the door, surprised to see the redhead outside and eagerly let him in, heading back to the living room where Haruka was. The two were discussing living possibilities when the two were going to go off to university months after graduation.

  
"You're actually going to move to Tokyo?" Rin was surprised at the news. "Both of you?"

  
"They have a really good teaching program and I've already received the acceptance letter and applied for a few scholarships to help me out," Makoto responded, finding the envelope in the massive stack of apartment listings and handing it to Rin. "And then Haru-chan applied as well and they offered him a swimming scholarship. We're looking now, and then a few weeks after we graduate, we're planning on moving then."

  
"But what are you going to study, though? That's important too."

  
Haruka shrugged. "Maybe marine biology or something? I don't know. I'll figure it out later. That's what a lot of people do."

  
"Haru-chan..."

  
"What about you, Rin?"

  
"I..." the redhead set Makoto's acceptance letter on the table. "I don't know. Hadn't really thought about it as much as you have."

  
Makoto laughed. "You sound like Haru. It's not too late to apply to where we're going, you know. We could always live together, too! It'll be fun"  
Red eyes widened at Makoto's words, heart beating heavily against his chest.

  
"I'll...think about it."

  
"Oh! Why'd you stop by, anyways? Is everything alright?"

  
"I..." Nitori's words rang clearly in his head. "Can I...tell you two something?"

  
Makoto smiled. "Of course, Rin. You can tell us anything."

  
"Haru, could you...sit next to Makoto, please?" Haruka raised an eyebrow, but obliged, sliding off of the couch and doing as Rin asked.

  
"And?"

  
"I..." Rin took a deep breath, closing his eyes and fists grabbing onto his jeans. "Is...it wrong to love more than one person at once? Or date more than one person at once?"

  
"Eh?" Makoto blinked, glancing over at Haruka. "Well, it isn't really all that common, but I think that anyone can love anybody. It doesn't really matter to me as long as everyone's happy, right?"

  
Rin thought that his lungs were going to collapse. "I mean like...love-love. Not just...as friends..."

  
"...Rin? Are you okay?"

  
"Makoto, Haru, I...I have a problem, and Nitori said that it was fine, but..."

  
"Well, what is it?" Haruka said, tone getting to be impatient.

  
"I...I've been thinking a lot lately. Like, a lot, and not about school or anything because I can't get it out of my damn mind and I do think that it's stupid because it seems impossible-"

  
"For god's sake Rin-" Haruka was cut off by Rin's mouth on his, kissing very quickly before the redhead did the same to Makoto.

  
"R-Rin?"

  
"It's dumb and I like the two of you, okay! And I know that you guys just got together months ago even though we all thought it was years ago, and maybe I'm just like a dumb girl that only goes after guys once they're taken, but...I don't know!"

  
"Please calm down," Makoto grasped Rin's trembling hands, gazing into upset and confused red eyes.

  
"I just feel so confused..." Rin breathed. "At first, I thought that I had only liked Haru. But as time went on and spending more time together-"

  
"Once you stopped being a drama queen?" Haruka added.

  
The redhead sighed. "Kinda, yeah. And then I started thinking a lot about Makoto and then you and then everything else and I talked to Nitori about it and...I don't know. And now we're here."

  
"But how exactly do you feel, Rin?" Makoto asked.

  
"So we're going all therapist now, are we?" Rin glanced back at the floor. "Well, like...iunno, I definitely can see myself with the both of you. And happy, at that. And I can't choose and I don't want to break you two apart either because of this, and it was stupid telling you, wasn't it?"

  
"Not stupid at all." he was shocked by Makoto's honest answer. "Because, well...Haru and I were talking one night and you did come up, and I think we were both on the same page when it came to the terms of liking you too..."

  
Rin couldn't believe what Makoto was saying, much less how red his face was.

  
"We've known each other for a really long time. Sure you did have your 'I'm going to be an asshole' period, but when it gets down to it, there's just something about you." Haruka said.

  
"And it's definitely a big change from things, but..." Makoto smiled, looking into sparkling red. "It could be worth a try, all of us."

  
Rin's breath hitched in his throat as he looked straight at Makoto, heart feeling as if it would burst.

  
"You...really? It's okay?"

  
"Well it seems we all feel the same, don't we?" Haruka and Rin nodded. "Then it's okay."

  
That night, when Rin left Haruka's, no, his new boyfriends' home after talking some more, he got online to fill out the application to the university in Tokyo, the deadline being at midnight that night.

  
Weeks later, Rin was accepted and had also received a swimming scholarship, just like Haruka. Meaning he would continue swimming with Haruka, his (and Makoto's) Haruka, and both boys were a bit saddened to hear that Makoto was going to focus on his studies (but they had convinced him to at least swim on weekends).

  
And days after, they had packed their needed things and moved into their new apartment the following week after graduation for the next four years.

  
Which was the most exhilarating four years of their lives, they all agreed.

* * *

  
Haruka had taken the day off, to clean their home and make a special dinner for his boyfriends. Thankfully the smell of food masked the smell of cleaning products, but they surely wouldn't mind. He was a bit behind schedule, due to having to remake the chocolate cake because he forgot to add baking powder, which made him a bit nervous, for he wanted this night to be perfect.

  
As he was pulling the roasted chicken out of the oven, he heard the front door click open, and Makoto's greeting of "I'm home" followed by the sound of shoes being taken off.  
"Ah, Haru! Everything looks so great and smells so good," he walked into the kitchen, finding his black-haired boyfriend putting plates on the table. "You really didn't have to..."  
"I wanted to," Haruka's face flushed, pulling Makoto by his tie to kiss him. "Did Rin say anything to you?"

  
"That he'll be home later?"

  
Haruka nodded. "Said he had to pick something up?"

  
"That's what he told me," Makoto stood behind Haruka as he stirred the pots on the stove, peering over his head. "Do you need any help?"  
"Could you carve the chicken, please? I have to frost the cake since it's cooled off by now."

  
Makoto kissed the top of Haruka's head. "Okay."

  
Thirty minutes later Rin had come home, saying that he was going to take a quick shower and he'll be out soon. The two young men in the kitchen decided that they would set the table and clean up as well, as dinner could be ready to eat when Rin was finished.

* * *

  
"Dinner was wonderful, Haru." Makoto smiled, kissing Haruka's left cheek and Rin kissed his right.

  
"It was no big deal, you two do deserve the best, especially on today..."

  
"I can't believe I actually had the courage to confess to you guys," Rin laughed, nudging Haruka's shoulder. "But...I'm really glad I did. And I want to give you two something, so could you come with me to the living room?"

  
They did as they were told, following the redhead and sat on the couch. They heard the sound of a plastic bag and Rin turned around, holding three small, velvet boxes.

  
"R...Rin..."

  
A small smile on his face, Rin got down on the floor, first taking Makoto's hand and opening one of the boxes, taking out a simple, silver ring with a ruby and sapphire on it, slipping it with ease onto the large hand.

  
"Rin..." Makoto choked out, his spare hand clutching Haruka's as tears spilled from his eyes, the happiest smile on his face that either young man has ever seen him make. "It's beautiful."

  
He then took Haruka's hand and pulled out another ring, this time a ruby accompanied by a emerald.

  
"Like I said, I didn't know what you two would have really liked, but I knew..that it was time to show how much I really do love you two."

  
"I love it," Haruka smiled, watching as Rin put on his own ring, the stones on his being a simple sapphire and emerald.

  
"Ah, good," Rin was relieved, getting up from the carpeted ground and sitting inbetween them. "I was a bit afraid since I went with something so simple..." he was cut off by Haruka kissing him. "...okay, I'll take that as I should just shut up now."

  
"Exactly, you over-think things too much."

  
"Oh!" Makoto quickly got up. "I'll be right back!"

  
Blue and red watched as Makoto quickly walked down the hall for a moment before returning with a small, neatly wrapped present.

  
"For both of you," he smiled.

  
Haruka and Rin carefully tore the paper back, revealing a simple picture frame....

  
Of their first day in their first apartment during college, together.

* * *

  
_"That's the last of the boxes," Makoto sighed in relief, collapsing onto the small couch beside Rin. "Finally."_

  
_"Yeah, but next comes the shitty part of unpacking things," Rin said. "At least we don't have twice as much stuff, or else we'd still be going through things well through half of this school year."_

  
_Haruka came in from the kitchen, balancing three glasses of water and some snacks. "Yeah, but then once we're done, it'll feel like...home."_

  
_Makoto and Rin smiled at each other, making room for Haruka to sit as well, the three of them fitting just right onto the used furniture._

  
_Pulling out his phone, Makoto extended his arm out._

  
_"Say 'cheese'!"_

\---  
"This is..." Haruka breathed. "You saved that picture for so long?"

  
Makoto nodded, blushing. "I've kept every picture I've taken of us since that day in your home when we all decided to be together. On my phone, computer, and on a spare usb, too."

  
"Makoto Tachibana, you are perfect." Rin said, bringing Makoto close to kiss him.

  
"Agreed." they heard Haruka say, placing the frame on the bookshelf, staring at it and smiling.

  
"Now come on, there's one more thing left to do today..." Rin winked, nipping at Makoto's earlobe.

  
"And what's that?" Makoto asked, feeling Rin's breathing on his neck.

  
"You two." and then Rin grabbed Haruka and Makoto, dragging them off into their bedroom for the rest of the evening, not a single protest from either man.


	13. Rain

Haruka sighed, staring outside at the rain hitting against the window. They had planned to go out for the day, a movie and then dinner, and with this sudden rainstorm, no one dared to go outside until they know it had passed. And by the looks of it, it wouldn't stop for a long while. Rin was at his side, curled up under the kotatsu, half-asleep and listening to the storm outside and checking his phone every now and again.

  
They had decided that yesterday, after Makoto had come home from work, that going out for the first time in weeks would be the ideal thing to do that weekend. Haruka didn't have to work, Rin had a free no-practice weekend, and Makoto didn't have any assignments to grade. Thus the ideal movie and dinner date was conceived.  
That is, until this storm came through.

  
 _Stupid rain.._., Haruka thought to himself, feeling Rin shift against him.

  
Holding freshly-brewed cups of tea and snacks, Makoto smiled at the sight of his boyfriends sulking that their afternoon date had been cancelled because of the weather.

  
"It might let up soon so maybe we can go to the movies later?" the brunette reassured, setting the mugs and snacks on the table, sneaking under the warm, heavy blankets and kicking Rin's legs.

  
The redhead propped himself up on his elbows, yawning. "Mmmph, maybe. But by the sound of things outside, it'll probably just be better if we stay in."  
Another unpleased sigh from Haruka.

  
"...you know, I think there's an ocean documentary on later and Rin and I can take care of cooking duty. I think it's supposed to be mainly about dolphins..." Makoto said, trying to bait Haruka to cheer him up. "We can make mackerel and other things for dinner and I think there's still ice cream for dessert, too?"

  
Haruka turned his head slightly. "...what time?"

  
Makoto laughed, popping a piece of cheese in his mouth. "Seven."

  
"It's a date." Haruka said, touching Makoto's foot with his under the table. "Now get cooking."

* * *

  
"Let me do this, Mako. You'll just burn yourself." Rin swatted Makoto's hands away from the stove. "You can start on the rice."

  
Makoto pouted, rubbing his stinging hand and attended to the rice cooker. "You could have asked nicely..."

  
"Alright-" Rin pressed Makoto's back against the fridge, tilting his head up and kissing him deeply. "Please could you make the rice? And now that I'm thinking about it, some steamed veggies too, please?"

  
The brunette flushed, adjusting his shirt. "F-Fine..."

  
"Thank youuuuu," Rin thanked, prepping the mackerel to be grilled, just the way he knew Haruka liked it best as Makoto started his own tasks.

* * *

  
Seven o'clock on the dot, the threesome were once again huddled under the warm kotatsu, full of dinner and bowls of ice cream present as Haruka's eyes were affixed to the large bodies of water on their television.

  
"You're adorable," Rin said, poking Haruka's side with his spoon.

  
Haruka only made a grunt in response, putting another spoonful of vanilla ice cream in his mouth as he continued to watch the dolphins on the screen jump out of the water with ease.

  
"Having fun?" Makoto asked.

  
"Mhmm." Haruka only nodded, eyes not leaving the screen once.

* * *

  
Thankfully, the documentary was only two hours long, and they had gotten through half of it.

  
But by then, Rin was fast asleep, curled up at Makoto's side as he was fighting off his own drowsiness, and Haruka was still wide awake, fingers running through soft red and brunette strands of hair.

  
Rin was right, Makoto thought, looking up at Haruka with a smile on his face, head in his lap. Haruka is adorable when watching ocean documentaries.

  
"Did you see that?" Haruka smiled, pointing at how the pod of dolphins were jumping alongside a boat. "Dolphins are so amazing."

  
Makoto nodded, nuzzling the side of his face into Haruka's thigh.

* * *

  
_"H-Haru..."_

  
Rin slowly opened his eyes, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. He had been moved to the other side of the kotatsu, and sat up to see his lovers very occupied. Haruka was in Makoto's lap, shirt unbuttoned and head thrown back as strong arms were wrapped around his waist and Makoto's mouth biting and licking at his exposed neck.

  
"No fair..." the redhead whined, pouting. "Of course you two wouldn't wake me up and you had the nerve to move me, too..."

  
"That's what you get for, ah! Falling asleep during...date night..." Haruka got out, biting his lip.

  
"You snooze you lose," Makoto added, squeezing Haruka's hips.

  
It was still raining by the time Makoto had dragged Haruka to the bedroom, Rin trailing behind.


	14. Stories

_"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful merman named Haru. He liked to swim, especially with the dolphins. He also liked to spy on the humans and befriended one named Makoto one evening, who was kind and Haru wasn't scared of him. They would see each other every night, laughing and it made both of them really really happy. Makoto would tell him stories and Haru would eagerly listen, and in return he would bring him the prettiest seashells from the deep ocean._

_But one day, while Makoto was sailing, a storm had hit and he had fallen off of the boat. Haru tried to get to him but as he sank he saw big 'ol mean shark Rin, who had Makoto in his arms saying that he was going to take him and there was nothing Haru could do about it._

_Haru got really angry and punched the mean Rin in the face, making him let go of Makoto so he could go up back to the surface so the human could breathe._

  
_Makoto was so happy that Haru saved his life that they got married and lived happily ever after and then Rin was so dumb that he died. The end!"_

  
Rin blinked, staring at the blue crayon words written on the old sheets of paper.

  
"Why the _hell_ don't I remember this?"

  
Makoto had been going through a few of his old things, and had found a book that Ren and Ran had made for him back when they were in school. His siblings at the time didn't really like Rin (a reason being that he was scary, mainly his teeth), and they had written the book one day while he and Haruka watched them while their parents were out.  
Haruka shrugged, looking at the small drawings on the pages.

  
"I don't know, they sure drew you right," as he pointed to a very crude-drawn red and black figure, with distinguishable teeth and shark tail.

  
He scoffed, crossing his arms and sulking as Haruka and Makoto continued looking through more drawings.

  
"They...like me now, right?" Rin asked. It had been awhile since Makoto or his boyfriends had seen the twins, with their busy schedules and all, but he knew that when they were little, they always preferred Haruka over him.

  
"Ah, I'm sure they like you just fine," Makoto said, ruffling red hair with a smile. "We could call them, if you like? To set things straight."

  
Rin just nodded, sulking and staring at the pages.

* * *

  
"Ran! It's so nice to talk to you," Haruka and Rin could hear Makoto talk from the other room, as they sat on the couch, waiting. "Listen, I need to ask you something..."

  
"Don't worry about it so much," Haruka sighed, taking Rin's hand in his. "If they still don't like you, then they have a lot to deal with since you're someone that makes their big brother happy."

  
"Yeah, you're right, but..." he sighed. "It'd be nice if they actually liked me, though."

  
"At least his parents like you?"

  
"True..."

  
"Oi, stop biting your lip." Haruka flicked his forehead.

  
"Huh? Oh..." Rin stopped, not realizing that he had been doing that habit of his when he was nervous.

  
_"Alright, thanks, you two!"_

  
Rin tensed up and squeezed Haruka's hand as Makoto came into the room, a smile on his face.

  
"You have nothing to worry about," Makoto said, kissing Rin's forehead. "I told them the whole thing and they even apologized and that they're excited to see you during the next holiday break."

  
Sighing in relief, Rin relaxed.

  
"Thank you."

  
"They also said to not take it personally, that 'kids will be kids' and all."

  
"...looks like I'm gonna have to give them damn good presents when we see them next, then." Rin said, laughing and earning a nudge from Haruka.

  
"Hey, they might like you now but I'll always be their favorite," he jokingly teased.

  
"Not for long!"


	15. Lessons

"Mako, towel!" Rin cried, noticing that the brunette had his towel partially on the stove and the fabric had started to smoke. "YOUR TOWEL ON THE STOVE THAT IS TURNED ON AND IS FIVE SECONDS AWAY FROM CATCHING ON FIRE, _MAKOTO_ -!"

  
"Ah, shit-!" Makoto turned around, quickly grabbing it and shoving it in the sink and turned the faucet on. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

  
"Guys what the hell is-" Haruka said, eyes widening when he entered the kitchen. "...oh no."

"It's not what it looks like!" Makoto defended, turning off the water. "I just...Rin's teaching me, it's okay! It's not like I'm doing this by myself!"

  
"C'mere," Haruka sighed. "You have batter in your hair."

  
Makoto's face flushed, feeling embarrassed. He had asked Rin to help him make some pancakes, simple pancakes, to add to his small list of 'things he can cook and not mess up' list (which the only things on that list were rice, steamed vegetables, ramen, sandwiches and ice cream sundaes), and in the first three minutes he had already almost set himself on fire and got batter everywhere.

  
"I'm sorry for making a mess," Makoto sulked. "Maybe I should just stop trying...?"

  
"No, it's okay..." Haruka washed his hands, and squeezed the water out of the somewhat singed towel. "We just gotta start with the small stuff. And you were making...?"

  
"Pancakes." Rin said, wiping off the counters. "He actually didn't do too bad when I told him what to put in the mixing bowl. He just forgot to be careful when stirring, so this was the result."

  
"Not bad," Haruka put their non-stick skillet on the stove, and turned the heat down to medium. "Now, you sure you put everything in? Right amount, nothing extra?" Makoto nodded. "I'm going to show you how to do this, watch carefully..."

  
Eager green eyes watched as Haruka took a ladle-full of the batter, slowly pouring it into the hot pan. "Now wait a little bit, and keep an eye on the edges..." In less than two minutes, Haruka flipped the cake over with ease, the side being golden brown and Makoto was more than impressed. "Now it'll be the same amount on this side, and that's pretty much it. You try."

  
"You can do it, Mako. Just do it...slowly."

  
Swallowing, Makoto shakily poured the batter into the pan just like Haruka had, his boyfriends behind him, watching with caution.

  
"So far so good..." Rin whispered, peering over Makoto's shoulder as he flipped the pancake, it looking just like Haruka's had, a grin spreading on his face. "Thatta boy!"

  
Makoto smiled, successfully taking the finished pancake and putting it on the plate on top of Haruka's example.

  
"I did it!" He cheered, beaming at Rin and Haruka, spatula in hand and waving his arms. "Can I do more?"

  
"Of course, you have plenty of batter," Haruka smiled, patting Makoto's back. "We'll be sitting at the table if you need us."

  
He nodded, turning back to the stove to make more pancakes.

  
"I'm really proud of him," Rin said, watching Makoto along with Haruka. He nodded, eyeing the tall brunette put another successful pancake on the plate, laughing at Makoto talking to himself about doing a great job.

* * *

  
"Ah, could you two close your eyes...?" Makoto asked. "Just for a second!"

  
His lovers did as they were told, hearing the clink of plates being set in front of them.

  
"Alright, open!"

  
Blue and red opened, and saw a plate for each of them, complete with syrup and a heart made out of whipped cream.

  
"Dig in!" Makoto nudged Rin, a smile on his face. "They're not that bad, I tried one!"

  
Picking up their forks, Haruka and Rin cut out a small piece of the warm breakfast, eyeing Makoto's hopeful face and put it in their mouths, slowly chewing and bracing for the worst. Instead, they were both equally surprised.

  
"This...is amazing," They chorused, immediately digging back in.

  
"I'm so glad! I got a bit brave and added some cinnamon to the rest of the batter," Makoto blushed, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought you two were going to think it was disgusting, but you liking it really makes me happy!"

  
"Makoto, if you make me these for the rest of my life I will be a VERY lucky man," Rin moaned, continuing to stuff his face. Haruka nodded in agreement.

  
The tallest laughed. "Maybe I should make dinner tonight, too!"

  
"...can we have more pancakes?" Haruka asked, hopeful.

  
"Anything for my boys," Makoto smiled. "Chocolate chip?"

  
"Some fruit would be nice, too." Haruka added.

  
"Okay, I'll make more for dinner, fruit and anything else included. You two just have to do dishes."

  
The two young men didn't even complain.


	16. Courageous

"That one? Are you sure?"

  
Makoto nodded, holding the DVD case in his hands. Tonight was the night that he was going to try to get through an entire horror movie, with minimal screaming and hiding behind his lovers or his hands. He had chosen one that didn't look (or sound by the synopsis on the back of the case) as awful as the ones that Haruka and Rin were showing him from Nagisa's personal collection they had borrowed.

  
"It's in, are you positive you want to go through with his?" Rin said, sitting back down and pulling a blanket over the three of them.

  
With Haruka on his left and Rin to his right, and the popcorn in his lap, the redhead pressed play on the remote, promptly starting the film.

* * *

  
He almost wanted to stop five minutes in.

  
Haruka squeezed his hand, eyes still wide open at the fact that he had just watched someone being torn apart by a horde of zombies, her screams still fresh in his mind. And it was just five minutes in.

  
"You okay?" Rin rubbed his back. "I can feel you shaking, we can turn it off-"

  
"No, I'm fine," he reassured, taking a deep breath. "I can do this."

  
"Please just don't bite your tongue to stop yourself from screaming, I don't want to have to clean up blood and take you to the emergency room," Haruka sighed, putting more popcorn in his mouth.

  
"Well that would make an interesting story to tell at least," Rin snorted.

  
Makoto only groaned.

* * *

  
Halfway in, and Makoto was fighting off every urge in his body to just cover his eyes and leave the room.

  
He envied Haruka and Rin, who were eagerly watching, even making comments every now and again, from ' _how fake was that blood_?' to Rin screaming at an actress to ' _get the fuck out of the room_ ' while he was a foot away from the screen.

  
The two did jump at times, due to the horror movie mechanic of loud, sudden noises, which made him jump as well but tried his best not to cry out and scramble away to hide.  
But knowing that Makoto was uncomfortable and doing this to prove that he could get through at least one movie without running away and hiding, Rin and Haruka had their spare hands on Makoto's back, rubbing comforting circles.

  
At least it did calm him down, just a little bit.

* * *

  
"Alright, that's the end," Rin stretched his arms into the air, letting out a satisfied sigh when he felt his bones pop. "And you didn't leave or cover your eyes once, Mako...hey, Mako?"

  
Makoto's face was pale, not blinking or moving at all. He was breathing, thankfully, but his fists were clenched and Rin nudged him, gaining no response.

  
"Uh...Haru?"

  
"Makoto," Haruka tried, shaking him. "Makoto, it's over."

  
"...it is?" the tallest quietly said, accompanied by sighs of relief.

  
"Yeah. Are you sure you're okay? We thought you were a goner."

  
"I just want to watch kittens and get in bed now," he whined, and Rin and Haruka's heart melted.

  
"And ice cream?" Makoto nodded. "Alright, come on big boy, let's go." Haruka got up, Makoto with him, Rin at his other side, leading him to the bedroom.

  
With soft kisses and getting Makoto in his pajama pants, Haruka got him comfortably in bed with his computer, going to the emergency 'happy' folder he had saved for occasions like this, or whenever he was stuck while working. Rin came back with the carton of ice cream, getting himself into bed and nuzzling into Makoto's side, laughing when he touched his bare chest with cold hands.

  
"I have the best boyfriends," Makoto smiled, Rin feeding him a spoonful of the frozen treat and looking at the kitten on the computer screen chasing its tail. "But no more scary movies, okay? I think just this once was enough"

  
"Agreed." Rin and Haruka chorused.

  
"But I am proud of you for getting through it," Rin said, nuzzling the teacher's side. "If we did this back in high school, you would've been gone way before things were just getting good."

  
"Remember when we decided to marathon every horror movie we had when Mako went to go visit his parents during our second year of college and he came back early when we were getting through-"

  
A loud whine came from Makoto, covering Haruka's mouth with his hand.

  
"Please stop, that was awful." he removed his hand, getting an apology kiss.

  
"But you do remember what we did to calm you down, right...?" Rin smiled, setting the carton on his bedside table and placing his cold hands on Makoto's chest, nibbling on his shoulder.

  
"Ah, that's right..." Haruka shifted, placing kisses on Makoto's jaw. "It calmed you down right away."

  
Makoto let out a quiet gasp, tilting his head back onto soft pillows and eyes fluttering shut when he felt Rin's hand slip past the waistband of his sweatpants with ease.

  
_Maybe watching one or two horror movies once in awhile weren't so bad after all..._


	17. Celebrate

_"What do you want to do for your birthday this year, Mako?"_

  
_"Can...we go to a hotspring?"_

  
_Days later, Makoto went to get something out of the fridge and yelled, upon seeing the printed out reservation for the weekend of Makoto's birthday, accompanied by Haruka's messy writing:_   
_Pack your bags, babe._

* * *

  
"Haru, this place is amazing! How did you find it?" Makoto beamed, taking in his surroundings.

  
"I was doing research for one of my books and then I found this one," Haruka replied, getting their room key from the receptionist behind the desk. "Their reviews I saw were pretty good."

  
"Well it sure looks good, way better than the pictures I saw!" The interior was amazing and very much welcoming, very simple but tasteful. "I can't wait to see our room and then the springs!"

  
Rin smiled, taking their extra bags. "Well, we wanted the best for our Mako's special day. And we can't say no to you no matter what we do."

  
"I already feel special enough," Makoto admitted, blushing. "And we'll be here all weekend?" Rin nodded, and Makoto's smile got wider.

  
"Come on boys, room's this way."

* * *

  
"Rin, Haru, come look at the view!" Makoto gasped, setting down his bag on the large bed and going to stare out the large windows, eyes wide. "It's amazing! I can see the springs from here! And the lights are so pretty!"

  
"The room is really nice, Haru," Rin looked around at the furniture, quite impressed at how welcome it really did feel.

  
"You're cute," Haruka smiled, kissing the excited teacher's cheek. "It is a really nice view, though. The pictures really don't do it justice."

  
"It's amazing!"

  
Rin laughed, coming up behind Makoto to look with him. "Do you want to get some dinner? Or do you want to go to the springs first?" At the possible mention of food, Makoto's stomach grumbled. "I'm guessing you're hungry?"

  
"It has been awhile, the last time we ate was before we got on the train," Haruka pointed out, putting his hand on Makoto's lower back. "We can see if there's a restaurant nearby or we can call it good and order room service...?"

  
"I'm okay with room service if you two are...we can go out tomorrow if that's alright?" Haruka nodded, leading Makoto and Rin over to the bed so that they could look over the menu the receptionist had given him when they checked in.

* * *

  
One nice meal later, the three men content and full, an eager Makoto lead his lovers down to one of the private hotsprings to relax. After changing and grabbing spare towels, Makoto let Haruka and Rin get in the water first like the kind gentleman he is, and then he sat himself in between them comfortably.

  
"Does your face hurt?" Rin asked, wrapping his arm around his smiling lover.

  
"Eh?"

  
"You've been smiling ever since we left today. Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

  
"I'm just...really happy," Makoto said, taking Rin and Haruka's hands. "I'm so lucky to have you two."

  
"Mako..."

  
"I love you both. Even saying it every day, when I leave, come home and before bed, I mean it more every time I say it," Makoto flushed, staring at the hands he was holding underneath the water. "You both have made me feel like I'm truly living my life, with so many new and wonderful experiences, having two amazing men at my side who I've known for so long...Rin, are you okay?"

Rin nodded, using his free hand to rub the beginning tears in his eyes. Makoto smiled, leaning over to kiss the redhead softly.

  
"I'm happy you two are here. If you two were busy I'd probably just sit at home, grading papers and being sad while stuffing my face with cake or something," Makoto admitted with a laugh. "I feel so spoiled, because this place is so nice and I haven't had to lift a finger since this morning."

  
"There'd be no way we'd miss this or have other plans, Mako," Haruka kissed Makoto's hand. "I'm just the happiest that you really like this, and actually let me and Rin take care of all the planning for once."

  
Makoto sighed happily, resting his head on Haruka's shoulder, sinking a bit more into the warm, welcoming water.

  
"I love you two."

* * *

  
"I don't want to leave, can we stay?" Makoto pouted, laying on the large bed, bags packed. "My skin definitely got softer, I can feel it."

  
"That's because you adapted Haru's water likeness and we had to drag you out every time so you wouldn't get overheated, dummy." Rin crawled ontop of Makoto, sitting on his lower back, and the tallest just whined.

  
"I like it here, though."

  
"Yeah...me too. It's nice to spend a weekend away from home once in awhile."

  
"Well..." Haruka said, running his fingers through soft brown hair. "How about we come back next year?"

  
"Really?" Makoto's eyes widened, grabbing Haruka by his sweatshirt and pulling him down. "Can we?" Haruka only nodded.

  
"Yes!" Makoto and Rin cheered, hugging Haruka tightly.

  
"Best birthday ever." Makoto hummed, kissing Haruka, and then Rin. "Thank you."

  
"Just wait, Nagisa said that there's cake waiting at home for us." Rin said, showing Makoto and Haruka the message he had gotten that morning from the blonde.

  
"I knew there was a good reason we gave him and Rei a spare key." Makoto laughed. He rolled over, so now that he was laying on top of both of his lovers.

  
"Hey..." Rin rested his hands on Makoto's hips. "You better get off, we gotta leave soon or else we'll miss the train back home."

  
"Maybe I _want_ to miss the train." Makoto grinned, kissing the redhead.

  
Rin only sighed, looking over at Haruka, who had the same look of seriousness in his eyes as Makoto did.

  
"...you can't be serious." Rin blinked, gaining no response from either one of his lovers. "Guys-"

  
"I'm kidding, Rin. I have class tomorrow and you have practice, we couldn't stay no matter how much we really wanted to."

  
He sighed as he heard Makoto laugh, feeling Haruka peck his cheek.

  
"You two are gonna kill me someday."

  
"Love you too, RinRin."


	18. Bond

Haruka had gotten a call from his mother. It was nothing serious, no one was dying or in the hospital or missing, she just wanted to ask if he and Makoto and Rin would like to come for a visit later in the week. He hesitated, just knowing something would go wrong, but said yes because the last time he saw his parents was before the threesome had graduated from college. And truthfully, he really missed her.

  
"Haru, stop fretting, it's going to be okay," Makoto assured, looking at Haruka trying to fix his tie in the mirror. "I'm sure everything's going to go really well. We don't even have to stay that long."

  
"It's my parents, Mako." Haruka huffed, fingers absentmindedly touching his ring. "Well...my mom is okay, it's just...my dad. He almost didn't show up when we graduated but mom had to persuade him to go..."

  
"You're overthinking things," Rin said and kissed Haruka's cheek, patting his back. "We haven't seen them in awhile and a lot has happened, they probably just want to see you. Maybe your mom finally knocked some sense into him."

  
"If anything happens, we'll be there with you, and that's all that matters, okay?"

  
"...okay." he sighed.

* * *

  
After a light dinner, the group had moved to the living room for drinks.

  
"So, Haruka," his father started, pouring a glass of wine. "You've written some pretty popular books."

  
"Just something that I like to do, that's all," the young man shrugged. "Some being just three, but whatever."

  
"We've also heard that Rin's really close to joining the Olympic team and Makoto landed a teaching job, that's pretty impressive."

  
"I'm really proud of them."

  
Rin and Makoto glanced at each other, the tension in the room getting bigger and bigger. Mrs. Nanase offered snacks and the boys obliged quickly, doing anything to make the meeting any less awkward.

  
And then came the question.

"When are you going to settle down, Haruka?"

  
Haruka gripped his glass, biting the inside of his cheek. "I already have."

  
"Haruka, being a part-time aquarium employee and bare-minimum author isn't a stable career choice, and someday you'll have to buckle down and decide-"

  
"I knew you would do this." Makoto put his hand on Haruka's knee, squeezing reassuringly. "Why does it matter to you what I do with my life?"

  
"We only want what's best for you, Haruka. And this relationship of yours-"

  
Haruka set his glass down on the coffee table, standing up quickly and exiting the room and leaving Makoto and Rin in the room with his parents, hearing the front door slam.

  
"Mr. Nanase," Rin started, grasping Makoto's hand. "..are you still unhappy? About...us?"

  
The older man sighed, removing his glasses. "You two are great young men, really. I've known you for years now, and I know Haruka loves you two very much, but this relationship is just...unusual."

  
"Unusual because we love your son more than anything, and that he happens to love us the same way?"

  
"Rin, please," Makoto whispered, feeling Rin starting to get as irritated as Haruka had. But instead of leaving the room, he knew that Rin would stay and fight. "Don't start anything-"

  
"Your son is brilliant, sir. He has a wonderful career with me and Makoto at his side and he is happy. I'm so sorry that neither Makoto or I aren't actually women as our names might lead to believe, _oopsies_."

  
Makoto sunk back into the couch, knowing that Rin was moments away from yelling and starting something that would turn ugly immediately.

* * *

 

"Haruka?" he turned at the sound of his mother's voice and the door shutting. "I'm...really sorry about this. I told him not to bring anything up when I called you."

  
"Rin's probably arguing with him right now," Haruka sighed as his mother sat down next to him.

  
"Which means Makoto is trying to keep him calmed down the best he can," Mrs. Nanase said, looking at her son. "Haruka...about those two, you know I have no problem with it, as long as you are all happy. They're perfect for you."

  
"I know, mom." Haruka smiled slightly.

  
"I figured it was going to be you and Makoto in the end, but Rin is also nice, too," she admitted, making Haruka laugh. "But don't tell him that!"

  
"I won't." He paused. "Mom?"

  
"Yes?"

  
"...thanks."

* * *

  
_"Rin, please calm down!"_

Haruka heard Makoto shout, and he ran into the room seeing Makoto's arms wrapped around the fidgeting redhead, trying to stop him from doing anything even more stupid like attempting to assault their lovers' father in his own home. Yelling was more than enough.

  
"Can't you just accept that your son is happy and there's nothing you can do to change that? He doesn't need a wife, he doesn't need kids, and Makoto and I are going to be with him until the day we die because we love him and there's nothing you can do to stop me, or him!"

  
"Haru, a little help here?" Makoto pleaded, trying to pull Rin back down on the couch. "Please?"

  
He nodded, standing in front of his fired up lover, bringing his hands to his face, kissing him a bit too forcefully and Makoto sighed in relief when Rin stoped squirming in his arms.

"...sorry," Rin apologized, leaning back against Makoto, staring at the floor.

  
"Come on, we're leaving." Haruka said and took Makoto and Rin's hands, looking back at his father one more time before leading them towards the door, saying goodbye and thanks to his mother for the meal.

* * *

  
"So you yelled quite a bit, huh?"

  
The three had gotten ready for bed after the stressful encounter, Haruka in the middle, Makoto's and Rin's arms around him.

  
Rin sighed. "Yeah...I don't know, there's just something about him that makes me so..."

  
"Angry, yeah." Haruka finished Rin's thought. "Now you know how I feel all of the time about it. That's why I just walked out, I gave up trying to convince him that I was happy."

  
"At least you have your mom's support," Makoto chimed in, nuzzling Haruka's side.

  
"Mhmm," Haruka closed his eyes. "Even...even if he never comes around and says that he supports us...I think we'll be okay."

  
"And as long as Rin doesn't try to punch him again," Makoto glared over at the redhead. "That almost ended really badly, you know!"

  
Red eyes rolled in irritation. "He was asking for it."

  
"Rin-"

  
"No one is going to get away with calling our relationship unnatural and saying we're not good enough for Haru," Rin breathed in deeply. "Not even if it's from his own father."

  
"Remember when we told him?" Makoto added quietly, running his fingers through Haruka's hair. "He just...sat there. And I could feel how dissappointed he was, in all of us."

  
"It's fine," Haruka sighed. "He can think what he wants. As long as I have you two, I'll be better than okay."

  
Rin and Makoto smiled, both kissing Haruka's hair.

  
"Love you."

 

 


	19. Rumors

It had been a quiet morning at the Nanase-Tachibana-Matsuoka household. _Had_ been.

  
Rin came in and slammed the front door, throwing his sports bag and unzipping his jacket on the way down the hall, hand tightly clenched around a magazine. He kicked open the bedroom door to find Haruka and Makoto still in bed, half-asleep, but the two sat up immediately when hearing Rin's loud commotion.

  
"What is it?" Makoto yawned, rubbing his eyes. Rin threw the magazine at him, and green widened when he saw the article the magazine was folded to: " _Ever-becoming popular swimmer engages secret girlfriend rendezvous in small cafe_ " The picture showed Rin holding a cup of coffee, talking to a girl that neither Haruka or Makoto knew, and then a close-up of the ring on the redhead's hand.

  
"My 'girlfriend', apparently!" Rin yelled, throwing off his jacket. "Or should I say fiance? _Fuck!_ "

  
"She's not even cute," Haruka pointed out, huffing. "Is she just some random girl...?

  
"It's one of my sister's friends! We just happened to see each other, said hi, and that's it!" Haruka raised an eyebrow, as if the redhead would be lying. "Fuck off, Haru!"

  
"Well what are you going to do about it?"

  
"I don't know, I just don't want this to get out of hand! I've been getting texts from Gou all damn morning saying that her friend is freaking the fuck out and well, so am I!"

  
"It should simmer down in a few days, stop yelling about it." Haruka waved off.

  
"I don't want to wait a few days!" Rin sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, and Makoto sat up to rub his back. "My personal life is none of their business."

  
Makoto nodded, nuzzling the nape of Rin's neck. "It's going to be okay. It's just a dumb tabloid magazine, it's not important."

  
"I could always release like...a sex tape or something, they'd be all over that shit." Makoto and Haruka both made a disapproving sound. "Well, I'm all out of ideas, then."

  
"Just ignore it, that's the best you can do." Haruka said. "As long as you're not actually seeing some girl-"

  
"Oh but I'm seeing two, and their names are Haru-chan and Mako-chan," Rin teased, earning a pillow to the face from Haruka.

  
"But you know, it is a matter of time before you do get more popular and if we're out with you...well, y'know..." Makoto brought up. "And they did notice the ring, and if we're wearing ours as well..."

  
"...shit, you're right." Rin sighed.

  
"I'm okay with it," Haruka only shrugged. "It's no big deal, whatever. If it happens, it happens. And about the ring thing, I highly doubt that any person involved in tabloids would make that connection easily."

  
Makoto nodded, looking again at the magazine. "Who even reads these, anyways? It's just a bunch of junk and people only write it because they have nothing else better to do."  
"You want to go out later for lunch? Get your mind off of things?" Haruka asked. "My treat."

  
Rin just sighed, falling back on the bed. "Just let me shower and get ready."

  
"We've been in bed all morning, we have to shower too..." Rin felt a pair of lips at his ear, and a mess of black hair. "Come on."

* * *

  
A week later, Rin stormed back into his home, another magazine clutched in his hand.

  
"Again?" Makoto whined, trying to mat down his bedhead.

  
"Not...exactly." RIn only laughed, watching Haruka and Makoto's eyes widen.

  
_'Overheard on phone: Matsuoka in relationship with two women with the names 'Haruka' and 'Makoto''_

  
"Oh my god," Makoto looked up. "Is this real? Please tell me it isn't real." Rin shook his head, watching Makoto's expression gradually get worse.

  
"You remember when I called the other day, saying that I would be home late?" His two lovers nodded, slowly. "That's when."

  
"...please tell me they didn't hear what else you said." The horrified look on Makoto's face was unbearable. "Rin, I swear if someone heard you-"

  
"Calm down." Rin kissed the brunette, squeezing his hips. "They didn't put that in, so I assume they didn't. And you seem awfully calm about this, Haru."

  
Haruka just shrugged, yawning. "Like I said, I don't care. Plus all of my energy should be making sure Makoto doesn't panic too much."

  
"Definitely true."

  
"H-hey!"


	20. Pool

"Makoto Tachibana, get out of those clothes and into your swimsuit and get your ass in the water right now!" Rin yelled, trying to grab the brunette's ankle. "Please? You promised!"

  
It was a late Saturday afternoon, and Haruka and Makoto decided to go to the pool to surprise Rin after he was done with practice so that they could join him. Haruka was overly eager, changing right away and jumping right in with Rin, but Makoto on the other hand...

  
Makoto frowned, scooting backwards towards the wall. "But...it's been awhile since I've been swimming-"

  
"It's only been a few months! That's not all that bad, babe..."

  
Rin was right. Even though they tried to see Rin after practice as soon as they could, and Haruka would join him in the pool, Makoto sometimes would stay off to the sidelines, having to finish something for class and saying that he would swim the next time...for the last two and a half months. And needless to say, the teacher felt a bit self-conscious when he thought about getting into a swimsuit for the first time in a long while.

  
Haruka stopped his current lap to swim over to the redhead, resting his arms on the side of the pool. "Makoto, I'm pretty sure Rin agrees with me, but you look fine. Really. We see you naked every single day-"

  
"Damn right we do." Rin smirked, making Makoto blush.

  
"...and you look the same, if not better. So please?" Haruka's blue eyes sparkled.

  
"I don't know..." green eyes looked down, avoiding Rin and Haruka.

  
"Pleaaaaase?" the two in the water begged, and Makoto sighed knowing they would continue to ask, turning and walking towards the changing rooms where Haruka had already had Makoto's swimsuit waiting for the brunette, on top of their pile of towels.

* * *

  
Ten minutes later, Makoto walked out in his tight (but not too tight) swimsuit, face pink as a group of girls stared at him, talking amongst themselves and hearing bits and pieces of what they were saying (" _I've seen him here a few times before with those two guys but I never thought he'd look like that underneath those nice clothes!_ ") as he walked by. He flushed even redder when he heard Rin whistle at him, swimming back to the edge where his embarrassed lover stood.

  
"Well hey there, hot stuff." The redhead winked. "Now will you get in? The water's fine, it won't bite." But I will, the athlete thought, staring at the brunette with hungry eyes.

  
Nodding with a sigh, Makoto slid in, splashing Rin playfully.

  
"Now was that so hard?" Rin asked, pushing Makoto's hair back and wrapping his arms around the tallest's neck.

  
"I was just-" Makoto was cut off by Haruka suddenly surfacing between them, smiling slightly. "Well hello to you too, Haru."

  
"Took you long enough," he smiled, pushing dark, wet bangs out of his face. "Want to do some laps with me?"

  
"Awh, but Mako was going to do it with me," Rin pouted, pulling Makoto closer to him. "Isn't that right, Makoto?"

  
"Boys, boys, I'll swim with both of you. No need to fight over me." Makoto just laughed, slipping back under the water to get himself released from Rin's grasp, making the redhead sink a bit with him. He swam towards the other end of the pool, Haruka and Rin following with ease.

  
"Alright, but I'm not going to hold back!" Rin added, stretching his arms, getting an eyeroll from Haruka.

  
"You swim almost every day, stupid. Including earlier today. You're going to be too tired to even keep up with us."

  
"Says you!"

  
Makoto smiled, trying to hold back his bubbling laughter, listening to his lovers bicker before turning their attention to him, being questionable to why he would be laughing.

  
"You two are just way too adorable," Makoto smiled, quickly starting his laps, leaving the two behind.

  
"No fair!" Rin whined, watching Haruka swim after Makoto and then starting to swim himself, speeding up quickly to catch up to the freestyler and ex-backstroker.

* * *

  
"Have fun?" Haruka took Makoto's hand, as the trio walked to the station.

  
The brunette nodded, adjusting the strap of his gym bag. "I really did. It really was too long since my last dip in the pool, I can't remember the last time my muscles hurt like this aside from those extra tough practices in high school."

  
"I'll give you a massage when we get home, okay?" Haruka said, making the teacher smile. "Rin's been teaching me how to do them the way he does and I think I got better."

  
"And those girls that kept on staring at you? It made me want to really show them that this fine piece of ass is mine." Rin laughed, hand sneaking down to rest itself in Makoto's back pocket.

  
"And mine." Haruka added, mirroring Rin's action.

  
"H-hey..." Makoto blushed, green eyes widening. "There's people around..."

  
"Don't care." Haruka said, reaching up to pull Makoto's head down to kiss the brunette.


	21. Firsts (M)

The Nanase-Tachibana-Matsuoka household was overly busy.

  
Buying lots of drinks and food earlier that day, and inviting over Rei and Nagisa, Nitori and his new boyfriend, and Gou and Seijuurou, it was a bustling get together. It had been too long since the last time the threesome have had people over, and everyone was more than happy to see old friends again, discussing what was new in their lives and retelling old stories.

  
No one really seemed to mind the level of noise, mostly coming from Rin, Nagisa, and Seijuurou with trying to start a drinking game, and they all calmed down when Haruka took Nagisa's dare of seeing how much mackerel he could fit in his mouth at once, which ended with a panicked Makoto trying to stop the young author from choking. Which it made the redhead laugh, because he knew damn well that Haruka could fit plenty in his mouth. Gou and Seijuurou apologized for having to leave the fun early, with having to meet with their wedding planner in the morning, leaving the large group of young men with an overabundance of alcohol.

A few more drinks in them all, and Nagisa was brave enough to ask anything in a public manner.

  
_Anything._

  
"So boys, how's the sex life?"

  
Nitori and his boyfriend, Misaki, choked on their drinks, Rei and Makoto's faces reddened, and Haruka and Rin let out a laugh.

  
"Perfect." Rin took another drink, sneaking his hand to rest on Makoto's thigh, making the teacher jump slightly.

  
"N-Nagisa, I had a feeling you'd bring this up..." Rei sighed, adjusting his glasses. "You have no shame, don't you?"

  
"You've known me and have been with me for years sugar, you know this by now~."

  
Pink eyes settled on Nitori and Misaki, making the two young men panic.

  
"A-ah, Nagisa, we haven't..." Nitori was flustered, face reddening with every word. "We aren't...ready to do...that quite yet..."

  
"We've only been on two dates!" Misaki added.

  
"Ah, that's fine! It took a long time before Rei came around and now he loves it when I-" Rei covered Nagisa's mouth, telling him to quiet down. However he yelped in disgust when the blonde had licked and bit at his palm, pulling away and a wide grin on his face.

  
"True love right there," Haruka laughed, nudging Nitori. "Rin does the same thing."

  
"Well what about you three? Did you and Haru do it before Rin came along or...?" Nagisa looked over to Makoto.

  
"W-when Haru and I got together we didn't do too much other than kissing and...stuff," Makoto got out, Nagisa fully knowing 'stuff' mostly meant oral, handjobs, and the like.

  
"No sex?" Nagisa asked, and Haruka shook his head. "None at all?"

  
"We didn't do that until Rin came along, yeah."

  
"Didn't you sleep with someone at Samezuka, Rin?"

  
The redhead shrugged. "It was just a one-time thing, though. It was _completely_ different with Haru and Mako..."

* * *

  
_It only took thirty minutes after the swim teams first meet win of their first college year to have Haruka and Rin pinning Makoto against the wall of their apartment, kissing and grabbing everywhere. The brunette didn't even have time to react properly other than to close their apartment door and kiss back, arms flailing and trying to grasp at something to balance himself._   
_It was more than overwhelming, being kissed and groped at by two swimmers on the high of their victories._

  
_"H-hey...!" he groaned out, pulling away to get a chance to breathe, blushing when he felt something against his leg._

  
_Something...hard._

  
_"Mako..." Rin whispered, hand brushing against his bulge, making the brunette moan. "Bedroom."_

  
_"Wh..." Makoto felt Haruka behind him, hands slipping under his shirt. "N-now?"_

  
_"Now."_

  
_"Do...do you have anything?" Makoto asked, meeting Rin's eyes. Seeing the redhead nod, he was being dragged by his beltloops down the hall._   
_*~*_   
_"Th-there!" Makoto cried, gripping onto Rin's back as the redhead pounded into him, holding his legs open in the air, nails digging into skin. "Fuck, Rin...!"_

  
_The brunette was in Haruka's arms, the oldest placing kisses and bites on his neck and toying with his hard nipples, making him squirm even more as Rin continued his rhythm._

  
_"You're beautiful, Makoto." Haruka whispered into his ear, softly biting his earlobe as Makoto arched his back, whimpering. "You're close aren't you?" he purred, earning another whine and quick nod from Makoto as Rin thrusted harder and a bit more forceful, pushing Makoto up a bit, making the top of his head collide with Haruka's chin._

  
_"S-sorry-!" Makoto apologized._   
  
_"It's alright..." Haruka's hand traveled down, fingers grazing the area of hair before lightly touching Makoto's twitching erection, playing with the oozing slit. "You want to come, don't you?"_

_Gaining another nod, Haruka enclosed his hand around the thick shaft, slowly pumping while adding more dark love bites to Makoto's neck and shoulder._

  
_"A-ah, I'm gonna-!" Makoto arched his back, crying out against Rin's mouth as Haruka bit down on his shoulder as he came, legs shaking as Rin rode out his own orgasm with shallow breaths, hands dropping his long legs and let his fingers dig into Makoto's hips, hard enough to leave bruises, giving the brunette harsh, open-mouth kisses, nipping at his lips._

  
_The redhead pulled out, removing and tying the used condom and throwing it away in the nearby trashcan, resting his hands on Makoto's thighs, staring into hazy green eyes._

  
_"Well?" he grinned, earning a drawn-out, tired 'perfect' from Makoto as Haruka continued to kiss at his skin. "And what about you, Haru?"_

  
_The young man gently eased Makoto out of his arms, settling him on the pile of pillows as he reached over to pull the redhead to him, roughly kissing him. Rin ran his fingers through dark hair as he felt Haruka's erection press against his stomach. He let him press his back to the mattress next to Makoto, Haruka's hand fumbling around to grab at the box of condoms, pulling one out and sitting back on Rin's thighs, opening it with his teeth._

  
_"Do you even realize how fucking amazing you look right now?" Rin breathed, red eyes watching as Haruka rolled the condom onto himself, leaning forward to kiss him again._

  
_"I know." Haruka replied, earning a laugh from a very worn out Makoto, who was fighting the urge to sleep._

  
_Rin closed his eyes, feeling Haruka press himself against his entrance and he grasped Makoto's hand, feeling the brunette squeeze reassuringly._

  
_"I love you."_

* * *

  
"...and then once we finished we showered and slept, and that's pretty much it." Rin finished.

  
"I would have never thought Mako would bottom!" Nagisa beamed, taking another drink of his sake, making the mentioned young man flush, earning a grin from Haruka and Rin. "Feeling better now, Nitori?"

  
The grey-haired boy's blue eyes were wide, gripping Misaki's hand.

  
"I think Rin's done more than enough damage to Nitori's poor mind today," Haruka stood up with a groan, stretching. "Should we call it a night, boys?" There was a chorus of 'yes' and blue eyes went to Makoto. "C'mon Mako, help me with the futons please."

  
"Okay." The tallest got up as well, following Haruka down the hall to the closet that had all of their spare sleeping items, leaving Rin with the two couples.

  
"Oi, Misaki, Nitori." He said, getting two pairs of eyes on him.

  
"Yes, Rin?" the small boy answered.

  
"If you need any condoms, there's some extras in the bathroom cabinet, middle shelf."

  
"E-eh?!" Nitori and Misaki's faces turned bright red, and Nagisa just laughed.

  
"Hey, Rei~..." Nagisa turned his attention to his blushing beau, who was as red as his glasses by then.

  
Rin stood up, walking down the hall to aid his lovers fumbling with getting the foutons, spare blankets and pillows out of the small closet.

  
"Just as a heads up, we either wash these twenty times after tonight, or burn them."


	22. Nerves

"Do we have our phone alarms set? Hotel clocks set? Wake up call ready to go?" Rin nervously paced back and forth in their hotel room, biting his thumbnail. "I already told my teammates to wake me up too so if you hear a pounding on the door-"

  
"Everything is good to go, stop worrying." Haruka sighed, opening his suitcase. "You're going to get up on time after a good night's sleep, and everything will be fine."

  
The day had finally come, one of the most important moments in the redhead's life. After numerous tournaments and practices, after this next race tomorrow morning, it would make or break his future career as a member of Japan's Olympic swimming team. And saying that he was nervous was an extreme understatement.

  
"I'm surprised you haven't thrown up yet since we just had dinner, you know." Makoto had called from the open bathroom, washing his face off. "You need to calm down or else your nerves will get the best of you, which you're definitely good at."

  
"I know that, but..." Rin sat down on the edge of the bed, legs shaking, and touching his ring. "I've spent years trying to get here and now that I'm just one race away from being there, I can't help but BE nervous." He took a deep breath. "I want this for me and my dad and my mom and Gou, but I also want to do it for you two as well. You two are part of the reason why I'm even here right now."

  
"We know." Haruka sat down next to Rin, taking his hands. "And you're going to go out there in that pool tomorrow, Makoto and I will be right there to cheer you on with your teammates, and you're going to do amazing, Rin. I know you will."

  
"You're one of the best swimmers out there, Rin! Do you remember how fast you were recruited onto this team after college? It took a week!" Makoto smiled at him, leaning in the doorway.

"They'd be crazy not to want you on their team, even if you do well or not."

  
"Thank you." the redhead smiled, kissing Haruka. "And, um, could you two help me shave? Figured that tonight was the best time to do it, and all..."

  
"Of course." Haruka smiled. "Just tell us when you're ready, and we'll help."

  
"Good thing my scar healed from the last time somebody helped," Rin teased, looking at Makoto's pouting face.

  
"I tried my best, you just moved when I was! Not my fault!" Makoto crossed his arms.

  
"Keep tellin' yourself that."

  
"Hey!"

Haruka just laughed, resting his head on Rin's shoulder as he continued to joke around with Makoto. "Cute." he said, watching Rin give the brunette an apology kiss. "See, if you didn't apologize you sure as hell wouldn't get your surprise tomorrow."

  
"Woah, surprise?" Makoto's face flushed upon seeing Rin's wide grin. "I get a surprise?"

  
"Haru!"

* * *

  
Thankfully, Rin did wake up in time.

  
The athlete slammed his hand against the wall, inhaling deeply as his ears were bombarded with the sounds of thousands of people cheering once he surfaced. He saw Haruka and Makoto coming towards him, a wide grin on Haruka's face and tears in Makoto's eyes, and he knew that he didn't have to look up at the board to see that his name was there, in first.

  
First. Rin Matsuoka.

  
He pulled himself out of the water, legs wobbling as he immediately got an armful of Haruka, the smallest squeezing tightly and not caring a single bit that his clothes were getting damp. Makoto smiled, taking a picture of his two lovers, wiping tears from his cheeks.

  
"I'm so proud of you, Rin." Haruka's voice was muffled by Rin's shoulder. "Even if you're an idiot that fell out of bed this morning before the alarm you set went off."

  
"At least I woke up!" Rin said, stepping back and cupping Haruka's face, heart still pounding. "I woke up, and I got here, and then-"

  
"You did it, that's all that matters!" Makoto beamed, wrapping an arm around Haruka's waist. "It's only a matter of time before you hear from the team, just wait!"

  
Rin couldn't help but smile even wider, ignoring that his face was starting to hurt, and he was surrounded by his teammates who were still cheering for him and pushing him towards the podiums, Makoto and Haruka following behind.

  
The two watched with the biggest smiles as they saw Rin get his medal, gold, and stand proudly amongst the other athletes.

* * *

  
It took two days for Rin to receive a call, telling him that they were more than happy to have him join and start right away. And Makoto and Haruka were right there when it happened, and the now-turned professional athlete couldn't be happier.

  
"Our boyfriend is a pro now, Haru," Makoto smiled, watching Rin get ready for his first day of practice, now sporting a white Olympic sports jacket with their country's flag on it, a big change from his previously worn black one. "Better keep an eye on him, it's for sure that he'll get women left and right trying to ask him out."

  
"I know, but that's when we'll easily intervene somehow." Haruka finished up the redhead's lunch, slipping in the usual note and handing it to Rin, kissing his cheek. "Have a good first day."

  
"You sound like my mom." Red eyes rolled as Makoto laughed, kissing him next.

  
"Still up for going out tonight?" Makoto tucked a loose strand of hair behind Rin's ear. "Reservation for three at your favorite restaurant, eight o'clock."

  
"You know it." Rin smiled, resting his gym bag on his shoulder. "Well, I better get going. See you two later, okay?"

  
"See you later!" Makoto and Haruka waved from the front door. "Have a good time!"

  
"Oi, boys!" Rin turned around, a smile still on his face. "I love you."


	23. Late

"Rin, what time is it?" Haruka asked, looking at the empty seat at the table as he set down silverware.

  
Rin glanced at his phone. "...a bit past six. Why?"

  
The black-haired man frowned. "That's...weird."

  
"What are you talking about? What's weird, that we have clocks everywhere in this house and you didn't look at one before asking me?"

  
"It's just...Makoto. He should have been home by now." Rin's eyes widened, fumbling for his phone he had set down on the couch to call Makoto's cell.

  
Haruka peered over Rin's shoulder, hearing the rings clearly and then Makoto's cheerful voice of asking to leave a voicemail and he'll get back to you as soon as he could. He hung up, calling Makoto's classroom next and having the same effect but hearing the same message in a more professional manner.

  
"...Haru." Rin said, putting his phone down, looking into blue, worried eyes. "We...didn't forget anything did we? Like we didn't plan anything to do today or said or did anything to make him mad at us at all?"

  
"Not that I know of, his birthday was weeks ago and date night isn't until friday." He gripped Rin's hand, taking a deep breath. "Rin, what if-"

  
"You're just going to the worst outcome, Haru." Rin sighed, running fingers through his hair and letting it fall back down on his face. "We'll go out and see if we can find him, okay? Everything's going to be fine. We'll go to the school, see if anyone's there, and we'll find him even if he's not there. There's no way that he'd go anywhere else without telling us, you know that."

  
Rin also noticed that Haruka's expression hadn't changed, tipping off to the redhead that he was still thinking about the worst scenarios.

  
"Haruka, Makoto is an adult, and bigger than most. There's no way that any bastard would attempt to do anything without thinking their ass would get handed to them." he tried giving the black-haired man a reasurring smile, but again, no response. "Haru?"

  
"Let's go, then." Haruka grabbed his coat and Rin's hand, rushing towards the door and grabbing the house keys off the hook.

* * *

  
Haruka and Rin greeted the woman in the school office, saying that they were going to go to Makoto's room as they grabbed their visitor's passes and were on their way in seconds, passing rows of doors.

  
"What if he's not there, what if he's gone and we can't reach him and he's gone for days and we'll have to file a missing person's report and there's some sick bastard doing things to our Makoto and-" Rin stopped pulling Haruka, pressing him against the wall to kiss him, trying to calm him down.

  
"Haruka." Blue eyes watered, making Rin's heart ache. "I told you, we're going to find him no matter what."

  
Nodding, Rin laced his fingers with Haruka's and as they got closer to Makoto's room, with every step they both got more nervous. Rin put his hand on the handle, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he heard it click as he turned it, slowly opening it and heard a sigh of relief from Haruka behind him.

  
Peeking open a red eye, Rin dropped his hand from the handle upon seeing Makoto, papers scattered across his desk, sleeping peacefully, glasses askew, and pen still in hand.

  
"Sensei Tachibana, I have a question!" Rin loudly called out, making the teacher immediately jump up with a yelp, eyes wide. "Thanks for almost giving Haru a panic attack." He rolled his eyes.

  
"I could say the same thing!" Makoto pouted, fixing his glasses and pausing. "Wait, what time is it?!"

  
"It's seven, Makoto."

  
Rin thought that Makoto's heart was going to explode, by how his face looked. "I'm so sorry! I planned to just get a few essays out of the way here so I wouldn't have to bring them all with me and I guess I fell asleep." Makoto's face was now a light shade of pink as he rushed to tidy his desk up so that they all could leave. "And I forgot I left my phone on, on silent too, so the battery ran out."

  
"You've been working too hard, love." Rin sighed, sitting on the corner of the large desk and ruffling brown hair, making him whine. "I've noticed you've been staying up late. Even Haru knows better than to do that, even if he has a chapter to finish."

  
"But-" Makoto's words were halted when Rin pulled him out of his chair by his tie.

  
"Come on, you're probably starving and Haru already made dinner." Rin smiled, letting the tie fall from his hand and grabbed Makoto's bag for him, walking out of the classroom. "By the way, he thought you got adultnapped." Rin tilted his head towards Haruka.

  
"H-Haru!"

  
He just shrugged, taking Makoto's hand. "Well it's true."


	24. Adore

It was past midnight when Haruka had finished getting all of his thoughts out. His fingers ached from the constant typing, trying to get ahead of his set work schedule so that he could relax for the next few days without having a worry.

  
He sighed, shutting off his computer and sipped at his lukewarm tea, tired, but also too awake by the thoughts running through his mind, like usual when he worked a bit longer than planned. Haruka would go to bed, but he also didn't want to wake up Makoto or Rin, so his place on the couch seemed good enough to him. Making himself comfortable, placing a pillow underneath his arms, Haruka began to unwind, breathing softly and enjoying his tea. His eyes went to the framed picture Makoto had given them, on their anniversary, and he smiled, heart fluttering as he touched the silver ring on his finger, feeling the two stones on it.

  
"I really am lucky, huh?"

  
Every time after writing, Haruka would do this. He would stare at the photo, or any photo of the three of them, together, and think about how loved he was and having two people instead of one, to love and care for him every single day, was like a dream. He had two to kiss, and hold, and touch and trust, people that he knew for almost all of his life...

  
He leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes, letting out a pleased sigh as he started to remember things after Rin's confession and the start of their unique relationship. How it at first was just Haruka and Makoto, but then it was Haruka, Makoto, and Rin, almost like Rin was there all along from the start. Like their first date and how it turned out that he was the most nervous (even more nervous than Makoto because he was late due to not knowing what to wear), telling Makoto and Rin's family and how well they reacted (he had almost blocked out when he told his mother and father but he wasn't quite there yet), and how excited they were when they were out one afternoon and passed by a bookstore, seeing his first novel in the shop window.  
Memories, precious memories, that he would never dare to forget.

  
Every date, every touch, every single thing that they had done together, Haruka remembered and cherished the good and even the bad. He was...happy, more than happy, and it was all because of a tall brunette and a redheaded shark-toothed athlete, who has stuck by his side through thick and thin. They inspired him, to keep writing even when some days he felt like he wasn't good enough. They loved him, even when he didn't. They were there to pull him out of the bathtub if he was in there for too long. They still made him mackerel and pineapple even though they thought it was disgusting, but served it with a smile. Haruka adored everything about Rin Matsuoka and Makoto Tachibana, and would continue his unyielding adoration for years and years.  
He wanted to scrap his next project even though he was halfway through, to just focus on something for Makoto and Rin, his feelings, all of them, to write until he couldn't anymore. To dedicate it to them in a more special way (since he already puts them in the dedications in his books, anyways), for the two most important men in his life. To see it on paper, bound, and a request for only three copies to be made, even if he'd pay a killing to do so.

  
For Makoto and Rin, anything was worth it.

  
Haruka was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear Makoto's soft whispers.

"Mmm?" he mumbled, yawning, seeing Makoto's figure leaning against the couch.

  
"Haru, c'mere," Makoto smiled, taking the mug from Haruka's hands with ease and set it on the small table, reaching out to take his hand next and gently pulling him upwards, leading the tired man to get comfortable in bed.

  
Rin was half-awake, smiling when Haruka and Makoto crawled into bed, Haruka in the middle, and pulled the covers onto them.

  
"You can come back in bed when you're done writing, you know." Rin said, moving his pillow. "I don't care if you think you'll wake us up, you're not sleeping on the couch again."  
"Rin's right, Haru," Makoto rested his head onto Haruka's shoulder. "Plus the couch must be pretty uncomfortable."

  
"Should we just get a new one?" Rin asked, playing with Haruka's hair. "It is pretty old..."

  
Haruka just shrugged, eyes falling shut. "Maybe. Iunno."

  
"Maybe we should just redecorate if we're thinking about getting new furniture. We're way overdue to get a new table and chairs, too..." Makoto pointed out, voice heavy with sleep.

  
"We'll look around tomorrow, okay?" Rin decided. "Sleep."

  
And that's just what Haruka did, easily.

  
With _his_ Makoto and Rin.


	25. Scandalous (M)

"Alright, the assignment is on page one hundred and seventeen, you may work in groups until class is over!" Makoto smiled, writing the numbers on the board behind him and watching his class get to work, murmurs filling the room as his students got to work.

  
He sat down in his seat, pushing his glasses up as he rummaged through a few piles of papers and books on his desk. The novice teacher sighed, as he mentally reminded himself that tomorrow morning he should clean up a bit before class started because it was getting harder to find things and looked at his drawer when he heard a quiet buzz.

  
"My phone...? What could Haru or Rin want?" Raising an eyebrow, he opened the drawer, seeing the new message light blinking and sure enough, it was from Rin.

  
And he regretted opening the message, containing a picture, almost immediately.

  
 _Our dolphin's a bit kinky today..._ the message said, green eyes widening at the picture of Haruka naked, on his stomach, arms tied behind his back.

  
Blushing, Makoto quickly responded.

_I'm in class right now, Rin! ><;_

  
Setting his phone back down, he got back to his work, answering questions that his students asked and moments later his phone buzzed again, knowing that it was Rin yet again. This time, the picture made his jaw drop, and he was extremely thankful that a student just walked away from his desk because a quiet whine had escaped from his lips.

  
It was Haruka, of course, but this time with Rin's length in his mouth and hand tangled in dark hair, bright blue eyes staring at him.

  
_That's a shame, all the means to get home sooner, hmm? I don't want to have all of the fun here..._

  
_Rin Matsuoka, I swear when I get home I'll give you more than you ask for! Now stoppit!_

  
_Is that a promise, dollface~?_

  
_Promise._

  
Makoto's face was now a bright pink, now refusing to look at his phone for the remainder of class, which was only twenty minutes.

  
...which was going to be the longest twenty minutes to get through, knowing Rin and Haruka's libido and Rin's constant barrage of pictures.

  
"Those boys..." Makoto muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to think of anything other than what was going on in their bedroom right now, and how he wished he was there, too. And then the teacher had two things to try to ignore, the imagery of his lovers going at it and the growing bulge in his (thankfully) dark slacks.

  
He was now set to busy himself, organizing his desk now instead of tomorrow morning, moving his books to one side and papers on the other, smiling slightly when he looked at the picture frame of himself, Haruka and Rin the day of graduation. Makoto tilted it slightly, it now resting peacefully on the end of his desk, near his books. He heard his phone buzz two more times, ignoring it the best he could with filling his suitcase so that he could leave immediately to get home.

As soon as the bell rang, his cell screen lit up with Rin's name on the caller ID, accompanied by an image of the redhead he took while they were on vacation, standing proudly by the campfire he had made. And he answered, hearing Rin groaning and Haruka attempting to be quiet.

  
" _Get home soon, okay_?" Makoto heard Rin say, voice deep, followed by ' _now please_ ' from Haruka, which turned into a sharp moan at the last vowel.

  
"I'm coming now, alright?" Makoto said, watching his students exit the room and grabbed his suitcase, leaving after they were all gone and shut and locked the door. "You're a real devil, Matsuoka, knowing damn well I was in class..."

  
" _Good boy._.." Rin purred, Makoto unsure if it was towards him or Haruka, but he took it easily as both. " _Couldn't help it, Haru's face is just too beautiful not to share, could you really blame me? See your fine ass soon, okay? And you aren't the only one coming right now-"_

  
Makoto just smiled, hanging up (hearing Haruka hit his limit in the background as the line cut off) and put his phone into his pocket, pacing quickly to get home as soon as possible to join in on the fun.

  
And how the fun would only just begin when he would get there.


	26. Favorite

Sometimes, Haruka would ask Rin or Makoto to help him with his work when they were available. Of course, most of the time he asked when he knew either man wasn't busy, and the author only begged once (with it being the day before having to turn in one of his final manuscripts), and ever since then, they would agree without complaints.

  
"You know what?" Rin said out loud, as he was looking over Haruka's latest works, focused on each sentence. The two were sitting in their bed, Rin sitting up with his legs crossed and Haruka was at his side, hunched over and typing away. "Something's been on my mind lately..."

  
"Hmm?" Haruka mumbled, eyes not leaving his computer screen. "What is it? Find any mistakes? Does anything sound stupid?"

  
"Your writing. It really is good, and it just keeps on getting better. Definitely not stupid." The statement made Haruka's face flush, blue eyes meeting with red. "Hey, I mean it! Honest!"

  
"You and Makoto say the same thing..." he sighed, taking a drink from his bottle of water. "You could just be honest about it, you know."

  
"That's because we're right, and I'm being completely honest. Otherwise you wouldn't have the shelf in the living room with all your fancy writing awards to prove it." Rin just smiled, nudging the author with his foot. "Someday you'll have more things than me, just wait!"

  
Haruka just rolled his eyes, perking up slightly when he heard the front door open.

  
_"Haru, Rin, I'm home!"_

  
"Bedroom!" Haruka called, picking up his laptop and moving, so that he was in-between Rin's legs and resting comfortably against his chest.

  
Footsteps got closer, and Makoto opened the door, seeing the two in bed and put a hand on his hip.

  
"You two being lazy again?" Makoto laughed. "I swear, most days when I leave and come back you're always here."

  
"Rin's helping me look over some things," Haruka said. "Since I have to get a certain amount done by the end of the week and I don't want to spend a lot of time revising and tearing my hair out."

  
"He basically made me his slave, Mako, it's awful!" Rin pouted, and then yelped when Haruka elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, that hurts! You fight dirty..."

  
"You agreed to it when I asked." he shrugged.

  
The brunette just smiled, loosening his tie and crawling into the large bed, resting against Rin's right side. He glanced over at the papers in his hand, pushing his glasses up to read along with the redhead. The threesome sat in comfortable silence aside from the sound of Haruka typing, focused on their work. Blue eyes would glance over at Rin and Makoto, watching them point out things and nod, flipping pages over. It made him nervous, even though they had done this for him many times before. Once they finished the last page, Rin collected the papers, kissing the top of Makoto's head and put the stack on the bedside table, looking over and catching Haruka who was staring.

"Well?" Haruka raised an eyebrow, closing his computer.

  
"It's good, more than good. Don't worry." Makoto put his hand on Haruka's, lacing their fingers together and rubbing his ring. "I'm sure the rest of it is just as fantastic. It really was interesting, I can't wait to read the whole thing."

  
Haruka sighed, leaning back more into Rin's chest. "I hope so. I haven't been really...feeling it, lately. I don't know why..."

  
"Don't worry too much, you always manage to tough things out." Makoto took off his glasses, setting them on top of the stack of papers to his side. "Are you two hungry? I could start dinner, if you want..." The tallest went to roll out of bed, but Rin grabbed him by his shirt.

  
"Stay." Rin said, pulling Makoto back to him. The teacher didn't struggle, getting himself comfortable once again on the bed. Rin ran his fingers through brown hair, massaging Makoto's scalp gently, making him sigh happily. "This is probably one of my favorite things, you know."

  
"Hmm?"

  
"This." Rin pulled the two men closer to him, resting his head on Haruka's. "Just us after a long day, relaxing, together, in bed. I love it."

  
Haruka smiled. "I love you."

  
"Me too." Makoto added, nuzzling into Rin's side.

  
Rin just laughed, stretching his legs out. "I love you, too."

  
"Now that you mention it..." Makoto shifted, getting on his side. "This is really nice. I mean, of course there's in the mornings when we wake up and then when we go to sleep, but we nearly don't do this enough."

  
"Well, then I guess we need to do this more." Rin winked. "Seems perfect enough, right? We could always have snacks, too. Maybe a movie or something while we're at it."

"Speaking of snacks..." Haruka said, biting Rin's arm. "I'm hungry, so dinner right now sounds pretty good."

  
"Then can we come back to bed?"

  
"Of course."

  
Rin sighed, looking down at his two lovers at his sides, thinking that they looked as comfortable as he felt.

  
"...exactly how hungry are you, Haru?" Rin asked, earning a shrug. "Well if you're not dying, I'm not moving."

  
Haruka was silent before shrugging again, yawning as well. "Fine."

  
"You okay with that, Mako?" Getting no response, the redhead tilted his head, pushing brown locks upwards and smiled, seeing Makoto fast asleep, breathing softly. "I'll take that as a yes."

  
He felt Haruka move slightly, knowing that he was falling asleep himself. Rin leaned, placing a kiss on Makoto's head and then to his left, to do the same to Haruka.

  
"Yeah, this is definitely my favorite." Rin smiled, closing his eyes and lacing his fingers with Haruka and Makoto's, drifting off as well.


	27. Almost (M)

"Haru, come on, you don't need another one."

  
"I know, I just...wanted to try some on." Blue eyes shifted to the left, towards the swimsuit display. "...please?"

  
"Haru, no. We're here because I need to get new goggles after someone had to step on them." That someone, being Haruka.

  
"It's your fault for leaving them on the floor." Haruka huffed, ignoring the redhead and walking towards the display. Rin just sighed, following him closely. Makoto was just a few shops down, ordering something for dinner that evening, and so Haruka just went with Rin to the sporting goods store. Rin thought that it would be a quick in and out trip; he would get his goggles and leave, and be out in five minutes, or less, tops. However, as soon as they entered, he knew exactly where Haruka wanted to go. And that's when the redhead knew that he was screwed.

  
"Ten minutes, Nanase. Then we're out of here. We can't keep Makoto waiting." Rin sighed, folding his arms, watching as Haruka collected about a dozen swimsuits in his arms and went into an empty changing room.

  
The redhead sat on one of the chairs by the changing room, legs folded and listened to Haruka mumbling to himself and the shuffling of fabrics, mindlessly messing around with his phone and looking at the displays around him. After the ten minutes had passed, he knocked on the door and turned the handle, seeing Haruka bent over, struggling with slipping the tight fabric off of his legs.

  
"Nice ass." Rin grinned, closing the door behind him, leaning against it.

  
Haruka just rolled his eyes, rummaging through his pile to find another one to try on.

  
"You know...I do like this one..." Rin picked up a white and blue speedo that was on the floor, twirling it around on his finger. "Well?"

  
"I don't do speedos, you know that." Blue narrowed. "If you want to see someone in a speedo so badly, go talk to Rei."

  
"And have to go through that blonde nightmare? No thanks." Rin laughed, Haruka's expression not changing whatsoever. "I'm kidding, Haru." He leaned over, letting his fingers run across Haruka's thighs. "You know what I like the most, though?"

  
"Hmmm?" Haruka bit the inside of his cheek, gripping at the pile of fabric.

  
"I think you look way better without a swimsuit on." Rin purred, digging his nails into his hips, making the black haired man gasp, lips at the nape of his neck. "But, that's just my opinion..."

  
"R-Rin, we can't do this here..." Haruka whispered, closing his eyes as he felt Rin press up against him, hands drifting lower.

  
"It'll be quick, you just have to be quiet, okay?" Rin bit down, making Haruka squirm and grip at the mirror, nodding.

* * *

  
"Rin said that he was just getting goggles, what's taking so long...?" Makoto frowned, stepping into the sporting goods store and glancing down at his watch. "Our order is almost done..."

  
He walked through the large store, looking down every aisle, none of his boyfriends in sight. The teacher walked by the changing room stalls, and stopped, hearing all-too familiar moans and voices coming from inside.

  
You can't be serious..., Makoto thought, face turning pale at the thought of what they were doing, in a public changing room of all places.

  
"H...Haru? Rin?" Makoto knocked on the door, turning the handle.

  
Sure enough, Rin had Haruka pressed against the mirror, pants pushed down and gripping the smaller man's hips, red and blue eyes wide as they stared at Makoto.

  
"Get in here, close the door!" Rin fumbled with grabbing Makoto's shirt, pulling him into the small room, making Haruka whine when Rin shifted inside of him.

  
"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Makoto whined, staring at his two lovers, face flushed. "People can hear you, you know!"

  
"It's fine," Rin grunted, pressing back into Haruka slowly. "We're being as quiet as we can..."

  
"I walked by and I heard you two!" Makoto hissed. "It couldn't have waited until we got home?"

  
Rin sighed against Haruka's neck, shifting so that his back was now against the wall and Haruka was facing Makoto.

  
"Well if you want to get out of here so quickly, do you wanna..." Rin ran his fingers over Haruka's erection, making his knees buckle. "...help him out, then?"

  
Makoto sighed, knowing that his two boyfriends would just continue (and for one he didn't want to get caught and they really had to get going). He shifted, getting down on his knees in front of Haruka, looking up at begging blue eyes before closing his eyes, placing his hands on his thighs and taking Haruka's length slowly with ease into his mouth, making the author cry out.

  
"Shh, hey..." Rin covered Haruka's mouth with his hand, slowly continuing his thrusts in time with Makoto's mouth. "You gotta be quiet, remember?"

  
Haruka nodded, tilting his head back and hands gripping in brown hair.

* * *

  
"I hate you two." Makoto huffed, arms crossed as they walked down the street, their bag full of their dinner hanging from his fingers.

  
"No you don't." Rin sneaked his arm around the taller man's waist. "It sure looked like you had fun..."

  
"We almost got caught!"

  
"Yeah, almost! That's because Haru can't stay quiet."

  
"Oh, please." Haruka rolled his eyes. "I sure as hell tried, you know. Give me some credit."

  
Makoto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "People stared at us when we walked out, and I'm pretty sure the cashier knew by the way we looked."

  
"At least we bought something, so at least they got a sale out of it." Rin shrugged, holding his bag containing his goggles and a swimsuit Haruka had picked out. However, Makoto was still unconvinced. "I'm sorry, okay? Please don't be mad..."

  
"I'm not mad, I'm just..." He sighed, feeling Haruka's hands on his back.

  
"You're mad. I can tell."

  
"Just promise me this'll never happen again?"

  
"No promises." Rin grinned, which disappeared when he saw Makoto being completely serious. "Alright, alright. This won't happen again..."

  
"Good." Makoto kissed the redhead, squeezing Rin's hand.

  
"But you have to admit, if we did get kicked out and if we told someone, like Nagisa-"

  
Rin was silenced when Makoto pinched his nose and yelped, making Haruka laugh.


	28. Change

Their home was...interesting, to say the least.

  
They couldn't help it, keeping all of their furniture from their first apartment in Tokyo, so most of it was worn out. So needless to say, when they moved again so that Rin was closer to the swimming facility and Makoto started his teaching job, it was all forgotten to get new items to fill their new home with. And one evening, during dinner, Makoto brought up the frayed couch situation again.

  
"We were looking for a new couch anyways, why not change...more?"

  
Rin raised an eyebrow. "...what do you mean by more?"

  
And that's when the threesome had found themselves looking at different catalogs that weekend, feeling completely overwhelmed by all of the different choices. Rin and Makoto were looking at furniture specifically, and Haruka was looking at curtains and other little things that would compliment their living space. They only wanted to change the basics and maybe get one or two more things, yet it was proving to be more than difficult for the three to handle.

  
Once they were done looking through every single book hours later, they had shared what they all liked, and to say the least, no one agreed on anything. Colors clashed, there was either not enough room or too much room, or they couldn't afford it, and by the second catalog the young men were more than frustrated.

  
"I know exactly what we can do." Haruka said, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts.

* * *

  
"Thanks for coming, Rei. If we kept on going by ourselves, one of us was going to have a breakdown or something." Haruka closed the front door, leading his friend into the kitchen. "Which would have been Rin, most likely with the way things were going."

  
"Not a problem at all, Haru." Rei looked down at the cluttered table, all of the catalogs open to various pages and pen marks littering the paper. "Ah...so it really was getting bad, huh?"

  
"Rin had to take a shower to calm down." the author just sighed, leaning against the counter. "And Makoto went down the street to the convenience store to get some things, so he should be back soon."

  
"What about you?"

  
He shrugged. "I was only in charge of the curtains, possible artwork to hang on the walls and bathroom stuff. They were looking at couches and bigger things, so I let them handle it."

  
Rei took a seat, flipping through the catalog at the top of the pile. "So...what are you three looking for, exactly?"

  
"Well it started because we need a new couch," Haruka turned to that section in one of the books. "And then we were thinking about either a new bookcase or just a smaller shelf, and then maybe a new bed and table..."

  
"So...everything?"

  
"Yeah. Pretty much." Haruka sighed. "And you were the first person that came to my mind that I knew would get the job done."

  
"Well, I feel quite honored, Haru." The younger man smiled, pushing his glasses up. "I'll try my best."

  
"I'm back," Makoto called, taking his shoes off and walking into the kitchen, smiling when seeing Rei sitting with Haruka. "Sorry about the mess, Rei..."

  
"Not a problem at all."

  
Makoto set the bag of drinks onto the kitchen counter, listening to Rei and Haruka discuss some more things before seeing Rin, toweling of his wet hair and sighing when he saw Rei at the table.

  
"We could have done it ourselves, Haru." He said, slightly still irritated.

  
Haruka just rolled his eyes, continuing to look through the possible choices as Rin joined Makoto by the counter. After awhile, Haruka and Rei had made a list of possibilities and shared it with his two boyfriends, who nodded when realizing that this was as good as it was going to get.

  
Their main request, however, was to keep at least some red, blue, and green.

* * *

  
It had taken two weeks for the moving process of getting everything old that they wanted to get rid of out of their home and all of the new things in, which when the new furniture arrived, Rei and Nagisa had forbid the couple to enter the home until they were finished with the final touches.

  
So, the threesome had went to the local cafe to pass the time.

  
"Are you sure that this was a good idea...?" Rin sighed, stirring his drink. "I don't know..."

  
"Well it's too late now, stupid. You should have said something weeks ago." Haruka pulled on a red ponytail, stealing the hairtie and putting it around his wrist. "I trust Rei, don't you?"

  
"I do trust Rei, it's Nagisa who I'm worried about."

  
Makoto just laughed, taking the strawberry slice off of his cake with his fork and holding it out to the worried redhead, who took it. "It'll be fine. I'm really excited to see how well things look! Rei even said he picked out some extra things that said would really compliment everything else..."

  
Haruka took Rin's hand, squeezing it. "It'll be fine, okay?"

* * *

  
"Well? What do you think?"

  
They were speechless.

  
They knew what they picked out (of course, because Rin wouldn't budge otherwise), but actually seeing their new furniture in their living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, they were all more than impressed. It was odd for them not to see their old furniture, and new things in their place. And completely rearranged, at that. But, like a lot of people have said, 'out with the old, in with the new'. The threesome were just way overdue for it.

  
Even if they didn't realize it, they really had changed quite a bit.

  
"Say something, hey!" Nagisa spoke up, putting his hands on Rei's shoulders, a big smile on his face. "I think it looks way better than it did before! Rei did an amazing job, and I helped!"  
"It's amazing..." Rin blinked, wide-eyed and taking in his surroundings after the house tour. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"

  
"That's what reading interior decorating books will do to you," Rei smiled, adjusting his glasses. "You learn what goes with what, in the exact right spot with the space given with what someone wants."

  
"Thank you, Rei." Haruka said. "We'll all have to go out next weekend in favor of you doing all of this for us."

  
"Oh no, I possibly couldn't-" Rei started, and yelped when Nagisa pulled on his arm.

  
"We'll be there!" He beamed. "Now we better go let you guys bask in the amazing atmosphere brought to you by no one other than Rei Ryugazaki!"

  
And with a apologizing Rei in tow, the door had shut, and their refurbished home was quiet.

  
"Told you he'd do a wonderful job." Haruka said, teasing Rin.

  
"I just thought what we decided on looked great in the pictures, but it looks even better!" Makoto smiled, looking at their new shelves and living room additions, and at the picture frames on the walls in between. "It really feels different. I'm a bit sad because we've had a lot of this stuff for awhile, but...I'm really happy that we all made the choice to get new stuff. Together."

  
The brunette wrapped his arms around Haruka and RIn's waist, pulling them close and sighing happily, admiring their newly refurbished home, with little red, green, and blue touches in all the right places.

  
In _their_ home.


	29. Argue

It had all started as a domino effect.

  
Rin woke up screaming, stumbling out of bed (almost crushing Haruka in the process and kicking Makoto in the face with no apology, of course waking them up as well), fumbling to turn off the still-buzzing alarm clock that read 7:30.

  
Meaning that he didn't wake up in time to do his needed daily routines and get to the pool for practice, Haruka would be behind his as well and also possibly wouldn't be ready in time to meet with his publicist, and Makoto was going to be late for class, the day before midterms.

  
The three scrambled to get ready, shouting at each other when needing to communicate quickly, and were out of the door and on their way in ten minutes.  
Hopefully, things would get better later on in the day.

* * *

  
It didn't get better later on.

  
"Are you kidding me, Rin?" Haruka shouted, holding envelopes in his hand. "I put these on your bag so you can mail them out yesterday!"

  
"I told you I'm sorry, okay? It just slipped my mind!"

  
"Rin, these are important! Bills are important! This is the second time you've forgotten!"

  
"If you want I'll go out and do it now!"

  
"It's pouring down rain and you can't afford to go out and get sick, not when you have to swim tomorrow morning!"

  
Red eyes rolled. "Oh please, I'm an adult, I think I can handle a little rain."

  
"You want to go out and catch a cold and have your captain tell you that you're a fucking idiot? Be my guest! This wouldn't even be happening if you didn't wake up late!"

  
"Oh, so yet again it's _my_ fault?"

  
The two were so lost in their own fight that they didn't hear the door open and close, or hear Makoto's quiet " _I'm home_ " either.

  
After taking off his wet jacket and shaking out his umbrella, the exhausted teacher layed himself down on the couch, sighing deeply and putting a pillow over his face in a lazy attempt to block out the noise. For one he was tired for waking up late, and the one thing he tried not to forget today for his class needed to make sure he was ready for midterms the next morning, he forgot, so with everything the way it was now, he didn't know how to really react other than wanting to sulk and get some much needed sleep.

  
"I'm pretty sure you're just bringing up all of this shit to make me feel bad, Haru! It was just one thing, I forgot it, and I said I would do it in the morning so get off my back, okay!" Rin snapped, storming away from the kitchen and stopping when he saw Makoto's figure on the couch.

  
"That's not the goddamn point, most of the time when I ask you to do something you either ignore it completely, or forget!" Haruka followed the redhead, not willing to let this go.

  
Makoto sighed. "Hey...can we stop yelling for a few minutes, okay...?"

  
"Then I'll do whatever you want me to do, princess!" Makoto's request was completely ignored.

  
_"Guys..."_

  
"You're a real asshole, you know that right?"

_"Hey..."_

  
"God, will you just shut the hell up, Nanase?"

  
" _HEY!_ " Makoto shouted, removing the pillow and looking at his bickering lovers. "Can we stop this, please? I had a shit day today, and my head hurts like hell, so if you want to continue to bitch at each other, go right on ahead! Just do it somewhere else!"

  
Haruka's eyes widenend when he saw Makoto's faint bruise on his cheek. "Mako, what happened to your...?"

  
"It was when Rin kicked me in the face this morning! One of my students even asked about it, because he thought that it was one of you two, but I lied and said that I just hit it against the cabinet by accident. Do you know how embarassing that was?" Makoto's eyes were dark, not their usual bright green. "And after this piss poor excuse of an awful day I figured that when I got home, it would be nice and quiet so I can unwind and get some sleep, but no, you two idiots are screaming as loud as you can, and it's pissing me the hell off!"

  
"M...Makoto-"

  
With a sigh the stressed teacher sat up, throwing the pillow onto the couch and stormed towards their bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Rin and Haruka winced, looking at each other with guilt all over their faces.

  
"...I'm sorry about what I said." Rin mumbled. "I don't know, I was just...angry?"

  
"No, I should be sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that, it's really my fault."

  
"Can we just agree to disagree?" Haruka just nodded, biting at his lip when he heard the bathroom door slam shut as well.

  
"He really is mad..." Haruka lowered his eyes, looking at his feet against the carpet.

  
"That's because we're stupid as hell." Rin sighed. "C'mon..."

  
Rin took Haruka's hand and walked to their bedroom, opening the door and sat on the bed, eyes on the floor. Eventually they heard the shower turn off, and moments later Makoto walked out, in a pair of sweatpants, refusing to look at the two.

  
"I'm...we're sorry." Rin said. Makoto just grunted, sitting on the opposite side of the mattress. "Makoto..."

  
"We've never really yelled at eachother like this before." Makoto said, voice quiet. "Argued, sure, but this-" He paused, running his hands over his face.

  
"Hey, hey..." Haruka and Rin crawled over, going to his sides, taking his hands and Rin started rubbing the brunette's shoulders.

  
"It'll be okay." Haruka said, feeling Makoto trembling. "We'll be okay."

  
"And you have no idea how sorry I am, Makoto." Rin's hands moved and his fingers ran over the darkening bruise on Makoto's cheek, frowning when he winced. "This day really was shit, huh?"

  
"I'll say." Makoto sighed. "That'll teach us for sleeping through the alarm, though."

  
"So..." Haruka squeezed Makoto's hand. "...are we okay?"

  
The brunette just smiled, resting his head on Haruka's shoulder. "...yeah. We're okay."


	30. Future

Makoto sat outside, sitting and petting the various stray cats that would wander around their neighborhood. It was quiet outside, a slight breeze and the temperature being not too warm, not too cold. He smiled, feeling the cats nuzzle at his hands and rub against his legs, listening to their small meows and laughing when their whiskers tickled his skin.

  
"I knew I'd find you out here." He heard Haruka from behind him, glancing back and seeing him sit down next to him, holding two cups of steaming coffee. "It's nice today."

"Mhmm." Makoto agreed, taking one of the cups and bringing it to his lips to take a sip. "Perfect for a Sunday."

  
Haruka's fingers absentmindedly played with a fluffy white tail, cup placed on the pavement next to him.

  
"Rin's going to be home soon, right?" Makoto just nodded, detaching the small calico kitten from his leg. "...alright."

  
"Something on your mind?" Makoto tilted his head to the side, green eyes fixed to Haruka's face.

  
He shrugged. "...Kind of." Haruka frowned at the worried look Makoto was giving him. "It's nothing bad, honest. I'll tell you when Rin gets home. But it is important."

  
"If you say so..." Makoto looked back down at the cats, letting them nibble at his fingers.

  
"That one's new." Haruka pointed out, referring to the splotchy bobtailed calico, licking at his thumb.

  
"She is, I think she just followed a few of the others here." The teacher just smiled, watching the other two run off when they saw Rin walking towards them down the sidewalk, the calico not moving an inch and continued to assault his hand playfully.

  
"New one?" Rin raised an eyebrow, seeing the new feline addition, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. Makoto and Haruka nodded. "Well..." he leaned down, scratching the back of her ears, smiling when he heard her loud purr. "...does this little cutie have a name?"

  
"Mmm." Makoto pressed his lips together, staring at the kitten for a moment, face softening when the perfect name came to his mind. "Akiha."

  
"Akiha?"

  
"Yep, that's her name." The brunette smiled, unlatching her from Haruka's hand and cupping her in his large hands, laughing when she licked his cheek.

  
"Well, we'll leave food for her in a bit if she decides to stay around." Haruka got up, taking his and Makoto's empty cups. "But for now, I need to show you two something inside."

  
Makoto set the kitten back down on the ground, getting up with a groan and pet her one last time before following Rin and Haruka into their home, shutting the door and removing his jacket.

  
"Couch, you two." Haruka called from the kitchen, rinsing out the cups. "I'll be there in a sec."

  
Rin looked at Makoto with a confused look, making him laugh.

  
"He told me it was nothing bad, but it is important." Makoto sat next to Rin, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze as they saw Haruka come into the room with a box in his hands, setting it on the coffee table. "Ah, big box with your publisher's logo on it? That means you finished your last book!" Makoto beamed, but then Haruka just shook his head.

  
"It's...something like that." The author pulled it open with ease, smiling when he pulled the tabs back. "More like...a side project."

  
"Side project?" Rin asked, watching as Haruka only pulled out three books.

 

  
"Here." Haruka handed Rin and Makoto one, sitting back and looking down at the cover for himself, running his fingers over the blank white cover.

  
The two opened their respective books to the cover page, Haruka watching their expressions change once they read the words.

  
_'Why I'm in love with Makoto Tachibana and Rin Matsuoka'_

  
"H-Haru, this is-" Makoto flipped through the pages, smile getting wider as he looked at the countless pages of Haruka's words, his feelings, hands shaking. Haruka just nodded. "...how? When?"

  
"Every night, I'm just...kept up with thinking about you two, so I decided to write it all down." Haruka started, taking a deep breath. "And I decided to print three, and only three copies."

  
"Haru, that must've cost a fortune!" Rin said, eyes wide.

  
"Not as much as you think, actually. I thought the same thing." He set his book down on the coffee table, putting the empty box aside. "...you don't think it's dumb, do you?"

  
"Haruka Nanase." Rin closed his book, staring into deep blue eyes, with a coy smile. "Nothing about this is dumb. At all."

  
"...really?"

  
"Haruka, out of all the things that you've surprised us through the years, this makes the top of the list." Rin crossed his legs, grinning at his boyfriend.

  
Makoto slid off of the couch, setting his book down as well and reached up to put his hands on Haruka's warm cheeks. "I love this. I love you, and I love Rin. No, wait..." Makoto leaned in, kissing Haruka softly, and pulled away to rest his forehead against his. "I adore this, I adore you, and I adore Rin. Much better."

  
The author smiled, glancing over at Rin who opened his book again and was concentrating on reading, a grin on his face.

  
"Oh, by the way..." Haruka started, but shook his head. "Ah, nevermind. You'll figure it out."

* * *

  
Makoto and Rin decided on pacing themselves so that they would finish reading at the same time. Every day they'd read a couple of chapters at their own pace, but didn't dare to read ahead.  
And when they read the final page one afternoon, a week after they were given the books, they dropped them to the floor and jumped off of the couch, running to where Haruka was down the hall, working in his office. The two circled around him, hugging tightly and pulling Haruka out of his chair, onto the floor.

  
"Of course, stupid." Rin choked out, pushing his face into the front of Haruka's shirt, fingers tangled in black hair. _"Yes._ "

  
"Why would we say no?" Haruka could feel Makoto's smile on his neck, and his skin becoming slightly damp.

  
Haruka sighed happily, closing his eyes and hugging the two men tightly, eyes watering.

>   
>  _If you're reading this, then that means you've finished this book._
> 
> _Everything that I've written, and said, is completely true. Thoughts that have ran through my mind during countless nights, things that I've kept to myself, and it was more than unbearable to keep them to myself, so I decided to do this. And maybe, well, most likely, I'll write more. Just for you two._
> 
> _While completing this, I never stopped smiling. Not even once. Even through the tears, good and bad, I was smiling. Because you two were there and are here with me now, to get me through each and every day._   
>  _There's still more feelings to come. Way more. We've been together for so long, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Through both the laughter and the struggles, I love you, Rin Matsuoka and Makoto Tachibana, and I want to to be with you for the rest of my life, living happily._   
>  _That is, if you'll let me._   
>  _So, with that all said..._   
>  _Marry me, Rin Matsuoka and Makoto Tachibana?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fact: the name of the kitten is from my senpai, raelinae's, wonderful fic Of Boys and Cats!


End file.
